Resurrection
by Call Me Ookami-Chan
Summary: Is a hero born or created? Dick Grayson/OC
1. The Defining Moment

**A/N: **This is a story I've brought over to this site from another. There really isn't enough OC love for Dick/Robin/Nightwing, so I've decided to create some. I hope that you guys enjoy this story.

**[1]: **The meaning of Anastasia is 'resurrection'

* * *

**Resurrection**

_The Defining Moment_

"Oh, God. Oh, God. No. No, no, no."

A scream tore its way through her throat and she clutched onto that forevermore silent little girl. The rain pounded against both the living and the dead and the former buried her face into that child's hair while sobbing and pleading for someone–_anyone_ to breath life into the small body she held. She rocked back and forth, murmuring apologies and promises to the corpse that would never hear them.

* * *

_Is a hero born or created?_ The question had been posed to her by a teacher and she had been made to answer it and stood at the front of her classmates, asking in return: _when Superman landed on this planet, did he witness crimes and decide that he needed to be the one to help? Or is there something written into his genetics that commands him to save people? Did Gotham's own hero, Batman, see a decaying city and decide he needed to save us or was he, a human, also born with a little something extra?_

_You see, I can't be sure if a hero is born or created. But what I am sure of is that these superheroes had some kind of moment, a defining moment that created their alter egos. It was a moment where they had to decide if they would make a change or just sit by and do nothing. So maybe it was this moment that created them or maybe it was this moment that kick started their 'hero gene' that spans all life forms…_

* * *

Someone had managed to pull her away from the body and though the rain still poured down, her tears had stopped. While her gaze trailed up to a gargoyle where a lone figure was perched, something built up inside her that began to push away the hollowness that she was sure would be rooted there.

It had all been building up to this and she was sure now that she had been right before in class. There was a defining moment where someone could venture forward to become a hero or turn back and settle with the world as it is and she had been faced with that very kind of moment.

She had died with that child, but she would be reborn into someone to help and make sure that no person would go through what she had.

It was appropriate, she assumed, since her name was Anastasia.


	2. The Trigger

**A/N: **I'm going to be using some Russian in this story and I'm, of course, using my buddy Google to translate. But if I'm just slaughtering the language, someone please let me know and I'll be happy to change it. I hope that you guys enjoy this. I'm the type of person who loves long chapters, so I've made mine the same. If it gets too dry, just let me know. Thank you all for reading and remember to give me the ol' review if you like.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything from Batman. If I did I would be insanely rich. Maybe richer than Bruce Wayne himself.

**[1]**: Father

**[2]**: Sister

**[3]**: "Shouldn't I be saying that to you?"

**[4]**: "Thank you."

* * *

**Resurrection**  
_The Trigger_

The morning had started off extremely early–at three, to be precise–with her mother and father stumbling into their apartment, screaming at one another in their native tongue. And she might have been fluent in Russian, but they were so loaded that she had no idea what they were talking about. The teenager was sure they would eventually get to their room within the hour and then she would fall asleep for another couple of hours, but she heard another door opening and closing and glanced in panic toward the empty bed in the room with her.

Anastasia flung herself out of bed and opened the door to her father screaming for her little sister to get to bed. The five-year-old whimpered and remained against the door, unable to move with someone yelling in her face.

"Karina," the elder sister shoved against their father and hoisted the child up on her hip, "come on. You need to get some sleep. We have school tomorrow." She sent a pointed look toward their parents.

"Why doesn't _she_get a job and support us?" Their father screamed toward their mother in a thick accent. "Why do you keep bothering me about getting one as soon as I loose one?"

The fifteen-year-old might have been able to ignore her father but he grabbed her shoulder roughly, snarling in Russian once again. Anastasia gritted her teeth and opened her and Karina's bedroom door, plopping her baby sister on the ground and murmuring for her to get to bed. Karina whimpered something in Russian and clung onto her sister's shirt, but Anastasia smiled and patted her on the rump, telling her she would be back in a few minutes.

When the teenager turned around, she crossed her arms over her chest and faced her father with a scowl. Although her mother tried to remain between the two of them, he shoved her onto the nearby couch, screaming for her to stay obedient for once and not move from her spot.

"I have a job. I've told the two of you time after time that I'm babysitting for the _working parents_ around the neighborhood." Anastasia stressed those two words. "And neither of you are getting my money because you're just going to use it to get loaded or drunk. I'm saving it so that I can get the hell out of here _with_Karina."

"Don't talk to me like that, girl." He snarled. "I am your father. Give me all the money you've made. It is your duty to help this family."

Anastasia's gaze narrowed. "This _family_. Not _your_ drug problem, _otets_." [1]

The man snarled and raised his hand, backhanding his daughter across the face. A hiss of pain escaped her, tears collected in the corners of her eyes, but she steeled herself and looked back up at him.

"Fine. Have whatever you want. I'm going to bed." Anastasia turned around and opened the door. "It's not like either of you will remember this tomorrow considering the two of you are so loaded." She mumbled and slammed the door shut.

Anastasia sighed in exasperation and slid down against the door, glaring at the window when the still irate man pounded his fists against the other side. Eventually, her mother ushered him away with promises of more drugs that she had managed to acquire. It was a gift from someone that wanted her as a part of their business, she explained. And the teenager decided to push that to the back of her head. When it came to her parents habits, she tried to know as little and care as little as she could.

"_Sestra_, is it done?" Karina whispered timidly from her bed. [2]

"Come to bed with me and sleep." Anastasia lifted up from the door and slipped under her covers. When the little girl curled up against her older sister, the elder let out another sigh. "I'm going to get us out of here, Karina. I promise you that."

"Papa will be mad."

Anastasia never managed to fall asleep again.

* * *

Gotham Academy had never been the most welcoming of places to Anastasia. It was only through a scholarship from the academy that she had worked her ass off to get that got her into the school. Coming from the slums of Gotham, the children of the city's rich and elite didn't like their school "being littered by trash", as a few of them had so politely put to her within her first week.

To make her feel better about the fact that the next four years would be full of isolation was that she had more time to focus on her studies. It was through the academy that she had a sporting chance of going to college and making a better life for herself and, more importantly, Karina.

Anastasia made her way to the first class of her new schedule, ignoring the sneers and giggles coming from the so-called queens of Gotham Academy. After two weeks in the freshman history course, she felt she would do better at a higher level. History was a subject she both excelled at and enjoyed very much. The administration wasted no time in putting her into a higher leveled course since there was still time left for the students to rearrange their schedules.

"Your name, ma'am?" An elderly woman at the front of the classroom inquired as soon as she entered the classroom.

"My name is Anastasia Azarova." She subconsciously rubbed at the bruise her father had left earlier in the morning that she had to cover up with makeup. "I was just transferred to this class."

The teacher smiled at her softly. "Alright then, dear. Go ahead and pick out a seat for yourself."

Anastasia turned around and took one of the few seats left in the room that was in the back and next to the window. Just as she was sitting down, someone dashed into the room, just mere minutes before the bell rung.

Said student approached her new desk and hovered over her. She glanced up at him with a raised eyebrow, her gaze roaming over his neatly styled black hair and locking with his striking blue eyes. With his size, she assumed that he was a freshman just as she was. But there was something familiar about him that she just couldn't put her finger on.

"Can I help you?" Anastasia inquired.

"You're kind of in my seat." Her face exploded in a blush and she opened her mouth to apologize, but he grinned and laughed at her. "It's no big deal. Just give me your name and I'll give you mine and we'll call it even, okay?"

It was the most pathetic way for someone to ask for her name, but she was just slightly impressed and played along. "It's Anastasia. Anastasia Azarova."

"Richard Grayson," he replied while sitting in the seat next to her. "But everyone just calls me Dick. Do you have a nickname, _Anastasia_?" He let her name roll off his tongue with a Russian accent.

"Sometimes Ana, but more often not." She shrugged. "Perhaps you should pay attention, _Richard_, since class just started." He pouted and she gave a small grin before turning her head toward the front of the classroom.

_Wait a minute_, Anastasia glanced toward the teenager on her right. _Does he mean Richard Grayson as in the ward of Bruce Wayne?_ Her head cocked to the side. _Isn't that just something?_

* * *

Despite how whelming–courtesy of Dick Grayson's vocabulary–the day was, Anastasia was sure the day would just get worse.

And unfortunately, she guessed correctly.

Some friend of a family friend of Anastasia called her during lunch, asking if she would watch over a child while said parent went into work for some extra hours. Since she needed the money just as much as anyone else that lived near the Narrows, Anastasia accepted to stay until it was bedtime.

Of course being so close to the Narrows, Anastasia had to walk home alone and in the dark.

On her way home, the teenager heard the distinct sound of a gunshot so loud that she had to drop her books to cover her ringing ears. Picking up the largest rocks she was able to find on the ground, she looked to her left toward an open warehouse entrance and couldn't believe what she saw there.

Some man–and she had to assume he was part of the mafia since what he was wearing didn't belong in this neighborhood and clearly meant he was up to no good–had a gun pointed point-blank range at the head of–get this–Batman. Tied up next to him was, of course, Robin.

Now, she couldn't be sure of how the two got into this situation, but it appeared that their utility belts had been taken from them. And they appeared to be tied up pretty well–or pretty badly since, you know, they were the good guys. Oh, and that criminal seemed to be getting pretty close to them with that gun.

Anastasia could be smart and just walk away from the scene since these two were breaking the law just as much as that criminal holding the gun to their heads. She didn't need any more on her plate because she already had more than enough. And there would be no one to thank her because Batman and Robin just didn't seem like the thanking type of people.

But if she didn't at least try to help–enough for them to get themselves free–then the city would continue to decay and so many people would be without hope. And no one should do a good deed just to get thanked, anyway.

Looking at the collection of rocks in her hands, she nodded to no one in particular and concentrated, now full of determination. Moving as silently as she could toward the criminal without alerting any possible henchman, she watched the rocks begin floating in the air above her hand. Rapidly they spun and spun and when she felt they were at the right speed, she commanded they fly and hit the man on the back of his head which sent him onto the ground. Anastasia kicked the man in his side as hard as she could, but he grabbed her ankle and pulled her onto the ground. She whimpered in pain but continued to fight and kicked him in the groin. Sure he wasn't going to get up for a few minutes, she grabbed his gun and smashed it on the ground.

"You damn little bitch." The man groaned while trying to stumble to his feet.

Anastasia struggled to sharpen the metal of the revolver with her abilities. It was much harder to refine the metal compared to the pure earth of a rock. When she was sure it was just enough to cut rope, she scurried toward the Dark Knight himself and began to cut at his ropes. She squeaked when the man grabbed the back of her head and jerked her away. It was just enough force, though, for the makeshift knife to cut into the ropes for Batman to break through them and smash his fist against the criminal's face.

"You're safe now." Batman told her while helping Robin with his own bonds.

"_Ne dolzhen li ya skazat', chto s toboi?_" She murmured with a shaky sigh. [3]

"_Spasibo_." Batman replied in fluent Russian which had her looking up at him in surprise–but seriously, it was the freaking Batman, so should she have been surprised that he knew Russian? No, probably not. [4]

"You're…welcome…" She replied while accepting a hand from the Boy Wonder and stood up.

Robin glanced over Anastasia before seriously stating, "that was pretty dangerous. Brave and heroic, but also stupid and dangerous." He frowned. "If he remembers your face–"

"I know what could happen, but it's nothing out of the ordinary for someone that lives close to the Narrows. A girl would appreciate someone escorting her home, though. Like, _really_appreciate that," she shyly requested.

The Batman approached the two of them. "Don't bring attention to yourself from now on." He was emotionless, but she could have sworn she heard him frown. "Unless its absolutely required, don't use your…abilities either."

"I was invisible before, sir. I'm sure it won't be hard to be like that again."

Once again, Anastasia was wrong.

* * *

Anastasia had hoped she could depend on her mother to pick up Karina from elementary school, but depending on a junkie for anything should have been a mistake she learned from–mother or not. So, when she returned to the apartment and found her parents strung out and passed out on the couch, she let out a near scream of frustration and turned around. She dashed out of the building, praying Karina didn't move from the safe–ish–grounds of the elementary school.

Halfway between the route to the school, Anastasia had been blocked by police who told her there was a crime scene and that she needed to turn around and go back home. The teenager shook her head, trying to push past them, explaining that she had to go pick up her baby sister. It was only when the man lifted her up to put her into some squad car that she saw a flash of familiar clothing and a backpack.

"That's my baby sister!" She screeched and pushed against the policeman. She dropped to the ground and managed to get into the middle of the crime scene where her precious sister lay in a pool of blood.

And the familiar piece of twisted metal was enough to tell her what had happened.


	3. The Deal

**A/N: **I apologize for not updating in a while. I'm usually more preoccupied with my Lunaescence account and keeping up with the story on there. If you would like to read more chapters of my story, there are already six chapters up on there. My Lunaescence account information is in my biography. And in the meantime, I will try to work on keeping up on here more often.

I hope you all enjoy and please leave me reviews. They are very much appreciated. :3

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing from the DC universe. I own only Anastasia and her family along with this plot.

[1]: "You whore."

[2]: Dark Knight Rises reference! :DDD

* * *

**Resurrection**  
_The Deal_

The one time Anastasia felt something aside from anger and pain was surprise that her mother and father hadn't touched a needle or bottle since the moment police knocked on their door, explaining that their youngest child had been murdered. Instead, the two of them separated from each other and Anastasia completely and wallowed in their anguish. The only time she heard them speak was when one of them would do something to set off the other and then they would be at each other's throats, accusing each other of getting in with the wrong people and causing their daughter's death. Anastasia made the mistake of being in the same room as them and received the brunt of her father's pain and rage.

Anastasia could say wholeheartedly that she had been crippled by the death of her sister. Her loss affected not only her home life, but her school life. Where she had before been able to handle the taunting and teasing of her peers, her fuse had gotten shorter and she exploded on a particularly nasty queen bee of school.

_Shut the fuck up,_ vy shlyukha, she had snarled while approaching said peer and pinning her against a locker. _My baby sister was just slaughtered and I had to cradle her lifeless body. I am not trash, but you are, you fucking bitch. Someone like you that treats everyone that doesn't have daddy's inheritance like garbage should have been the one in the middle of the street. Not my…not some five-year-old, innocent baby girl. Look in my direction one more time and I–_[1]

Before she had gotten the chance to finish her threat, a counselor and security guard managed to pull her away from the near-tears girl. Since there was no real physical harm done–only severe, possibly traumatic, psychological damage–Anastasia received no real punishment. Detention might have been given, but considering how her home life was at the moment, she was pitied and merely forced to go to counseling for a week.

"Anastasia, what you're feeling is completely natural. The other students might not understand right now, but, in reality, you're just afraid. You're afraid of a future that doesn't have your sister in it–"

The teenager locked gazes with the counselor and spoke, successfully cutting off the speaking woman. "I'm not afraid. I'm angry." Then she stood up from her chair and stormed out of the office without another word and consideration to the punishment. [2]

* * *

Anastasia knew that she needed to do something about Gotham. She needed to make it a better place where no person would have to loose a baby sister or loose a child. And she needed to do this for Karina, as one last promise that she would keep no matter what. She had already broken more than enough promises to that little girl.

Where Anastasia would start, though, she had not a clue about.

When it came to starting a vigilante career, Anastasia had only one thing going for her and it was the fact that she could manipulate the four basic elements–water, fire, air, and earth. Oh, and she had motivation. And sure, she didn't need a fashionable costume to parade around in, but she needed some kind of combat training.

Perhaps, she thought somberly, becoming a vigilante wasn't the best idea. After all, her determination to walk this path had been something spurred on by overwhelming grief. If she gave up, she was sure no one–not even Karina–would hold it against her.

In the end, Anastasia was just some from-the-ghetto daughter of two Russian immigrant junkies who couldn't even protect herself from the wrath of her own father. How could she possibly become a superhero?

All her thinking made her restless and she decided to take a walk outside and she ended up in the Narrows. It was late, but she could protect herself with the knife she had shoved in her tattered, high-top Converse shoes. It didn't matter either if she pissed off the wrong person. Karina had been murdered and she could care less about her parents who had essentially forgotten about their eldest daughter other than when she was in the way of their fighting.

Someone might have said she was looking for trouble, but at this point, she just didn't care about anything or anyone. The hollowness and grief was more than she could bear and her tears flowed as she walked along the streets. Eventually, she stumbled into an abandoned warehouse and screamed as loudly as she could over and over again until her voice was hoarse and she collapsed to her knees, sobbing.

"This decaying city has forsaken you has it not, child?"

Anastasia turned her head around and looked at the figure stepping out of the shadows with a narrowed gaze. The only things she could point out about him was his dark hair that had streaks of white on both sides of his head. The expensive suit he was wearing alerted her that he was a criminal–just like the one that had taken Karina from her a mere week ago.

"If this is your area or whatever, I'll leave. I don't want any trouble, okay?" She started backing up toward the entrance, but the man took a step toward her with every one she took back.

"You save the Batman and his protégé and how are you repaid by this city? With the death of your innocent sister." He sneered. "The police sit and do nothing to solve her murder because she is merely another casualty in their loosing war against the scum of this city. And you are a mere speck of a thought in the mind of Batman."

A lump formed in her throat and she stared at the ground. "What do you want with me? Other than reminding me of everything I've been trying to run away from?" She glared up at him.

"Why are you running from your pain? You must embrace it, overcome it, and then destroy those who have caused you to suffer. And I can help you do that." He gave Anastasia a once over before he began to pace around her. "We have been watching you for some time, Miss Azarova. You shame yourself by trying to pass off as a mortal and rejecting your true self.

"I know what you want, Anastasia. You want to change this city, change this city that has stolen your mother and father and turned them into the very people that murdered your sister, change this city that gave you a simple apology and passing glance as you sit here and suffer." The man stopped in front of her and stared into her eyes. "You want to make Karina's murderer suffer. I can help you with that. I can train you and we will both change this city and then the world."

Anastasia stared at the man with a puzzled and hurt expression. "Who are you?"

"I am the Demon's Head, the leader of the League of Assassins," he explained. "I am Ra's Al Ghul and will be your mentor if you so accept this deal with The Demon."


	4. The Decision

**A/N:** Hmm, I don't have much to say about this chapter other than I am terribly sorry about how much shorter it is than previous chapters. I've never had the best luck starting a story so these beginning chapters are a struggle to get through.

Oh, and there is some Bruce/Anastasia bonding. I know you guys came for the Dick/Anastasia love, but I'm trying to establish a relationship between her and Bruce because, deep down, the two of them are a lot alike.

I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. Reviews are, of course, appreciated and loved and you get a virtual cookie for leaving me one. [:

* * *

**Resurrection**  
_The Decision_

Throughout her entire life, her grandfather, Nikolai Azarov, had reminded her to never be ashamed of who she was as a person. _Your individual journey is unique to you and you alone, he would explain practically every single time they could see each other. It is because of this that you should never be ashamed of your life or yourself._And she tried to cling to those words harder than ever because she had never been more ashamed to be the person known as Anastasia Azarova than right now.

After the initial scarring of her classmate, said classmate's so-called friends were even more relentless when it came to reminding Anastasia that she did not belong in their school. Before, she could brush them off with ease, but their taunting was starting to get dirtier, starting to crawl under her skin more. And while the week had been full of petty taunting, Ra's al Ghul and his deal weighed heavily on her mind.

But what sent her over the edge, what had her sobbing hot tears in the pouring rain while in front of Wayne Tower, was when someone from her neighborhood suggested her to their boss in need of a last-minute babysitter. Everything had gone fine considering the children she had been watching were spoiled rotten and she had to remind herself she was getting paid and couldn't strangle the demon spawns.

When the mother of said children returned and escorted Anastasia outside, twenty dollars was shoved into her hands and the door had begun to shut while the woman was wiping her hand that she touched Anastasia with off. Biting her tongue and pushing the disgust down, the teenager pleaded for the woman to give her a ride back to her home or to get a cab for her since her cell phone had died hours ago. The woman shook her head, murmuring something about the bus and to leave before her neighbors saw the poor girl at the front door.

Anastasia was sure that she had hit rock bottom–or was damn near close to doing so, at least. The entire week had just been giving her more incentive to join Ra's al Ghul because this city was full of scum, at both the top and bottom of the ladder. Was she that desperate, though, to join a criminal and commit murder? Did it bother her that much to the point that she would help this man take the lives of people?

The pouring rain did nothing but intensify her mood and she stared up at the night skies in hopelessness. There was nothing left for her to strive for without Karina and she felt nothing but a sense of being lost.

"You're going to get sick if you keep standing there like that." She glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw the one and only Bruce Wayne standing next to her. "A girl your age should not be alone at this time of night." He moved the umbrella over her head and frowned. "And neither should you be upset. Come with me and I'll take you to your home, Miss Azarova."

The teenager blinked in confusion and opened her mouth to ask him a question, but he had started walking forward toward the street where his car was waiting. Dashing forward, she quickly slid into the sleek car that was being held open for her by the dark-haired man.

"How do you know my name?" Anastasia asked when he slid behind the wheel a few moments later. "Oh. Dick showed you a picture of me or something, right?" A nod was her reply. "Well, you don't have to give the poor girl a ride home, okay? You don't want to be in the Narrows right now."

"And I should allow a teenager to be walking in the rain in the Narrows at this time of night?" With a frown stretching across his face, the billionaire shook his head. "If something happened to you I couldn't forgive myself and neither could Dick."

The anger that she had been suppressing started rising up. "Even if you weren't pretending to care and if something would've actually happened to me, you would never hear about it considering no one cares about some poor girl from the Narrows." Images of her sister flashed through her head and she wiped at her stinging eyes. "Especially not the one percent," she murmured in afterthought.

"I can assure you that I care about what happens to you."

"Another reason it might be called the one percent is because only one percent of you care about the rest of the world." Anastasia whispered. "I should've known that you were like Dick and I'm sorry about getting all pissy. It…it's just been a really bad day."

The two of them rode in silence for a short time before he spoke. "Your apology is accepted. And being surrounded by them most of the time, I can understand where the distrust you have for the _one percent_comes from."

Anastasia stared down at the bill she had been clutching onto. "I spent hours all the way out here to watch the children of some couple and get paid less than what some of the people in my neighborhood give me just to get kicked out onto the street with no possible way to get home." She leaned her head back against the seat. "And all week I had to deal with some concerned students who don't like their school being littered with the trash of Gotham."

"It must be hard to rise up from where you are and be pushed at every step of the way." The car stopped at a red light and she mumbled directions to him, wondering how she had lost track of time. "And with just as much trouble from home." She sent him a quizzical look and he seemed to be glowering at the window. "The rain washed away the makeup on your face." He explained.

"I only have four more years here." She whispered weakly.

"This is something you shouldn't have to go through."

"And then I get shipped into the foster care system and all that I've been working for will shoot straight down the drain. And," the car had stopped and she stared out of the window at the apartment complex, "this place has memories that I'm just not ready to let go of yet."

While Anastasia was opening the door of the car, she looked over her shoulder into the piercing blue gaze of the Wayne. "If you ever need a safe place to go, you can call Dick or myself. Our home is open to you, Anastasia."

"Thank you, Mister Wayne. Promise me something?" He nodded. "Please never change the way how you are. It gives me hope that not everyone in this city is completely forsaken."

* * *

"Someone should fire the janitors around here. The keep missing the same piece of trash." A particularly nasty jock snarled while moving to stand in front of Anastasia who had just been trying to get past the group to get to class. "What happened to the girl that was shoving people against lockers? Did you loose your bite?"

"No. A predator doesn't bite into dead meat." She retorted with a snarl.

There was a gasp from behind the football player and his girlfriend–so Anastasia assumed–pushed past him to stand in front of her. "Did you just threaten my boyfriend? You can get out of being punished because your _sister died_for so long. I will make sure you get thrown out of this school for good–"

"It was not a threat. A threat would include there being another human being that is in danger of being harmed or murdered. The two of you are not human, not even trash. You are both nothing. A predator does not chase after nothing." Her nose tilted into the air the slightest bit. "Now, if you both don't mind to kindly move the fuck out of my way that would be greatly appreciated."

The surrounding area cleared for her and she walked to her first period with pride in herself. As she was stepping through the door, someone grabbed her shoulder and she looked over her shoulder and smiled at her only friend.

"How was your weekend, Dick?"

"Uneventful other than the fact that Bruce told me about a certain encounter he had with a certain someone." Dick commented while the two of them walked to the back of the classroom.

It was then that Anastasia noticed her best friend had arrived earlier to class than he usually did. "You're surprisingly early today. What's up with that?"

"Alfred decided the possibility of me being late was more serious than having to deal with me in the morning." She noted how a pink tint rose in his cheeks and she gave him a look, but shrugged and took a seat at her desk. "I did happen to see you standing up to the king and queen."

"There is only so much the caged animal can take before it snaps back."

"That was eerily cryptic and depressing."

"I do try."

Just as the teacher was walking into the classroom, once again Anastasia had to note that Dick had opened his mouth to say something to her, but he opted to close his mouth instead and let a frown stretch across his face. She thought about asking him what was wrong, but then she decided it would probably be best to let it go instead.

* * *

"A kid in the neighborhood is thinking about getting in the game." Anastasia lied smoothly while she and her dark-haired friend walked outside, waiting for their ride to the Wayne mansion where they would have to work on a project together. "Their mom wants me to talk to them. What do you think I should do?"

Dick glanced over at her with an expression of incredulousness. "Please don't tell me you're really asking me this. Do you want that kid to go to jail–or worse, _die_?"

"The world isn't nice to good people. Only the strongest survive and being on the dark side gives you strength."

"No. It doesn't." The two of them had stopped at the edge of the street and a car pulled up to the curb. "The bad guys think they have strength, but they _don't_. It's people like you that have all the strength–including the strength to push through."

Anastasia locked gazes with him and then she shook her head with a sad sigh. "I wish I could be as naïve as you, Dick. Where I come from, we all know that the world is not so black and white."

* * *

In the middle of the night, Anastasia found her way back to the warehouse that had given her two paths of life to pick from. When she arrived there, the same man who had offered her created said paths, Ra's al Ghul, stood in the middle of the warehouse and stared her down as she walked in front of him. When her gaze roamed around the room, she noticed that there was a large group of–what appeared to be–ninja surrounding the two of them.

"I accept your deal."

And then a satisfied smirk stretched across his face, breaking the solemn expression.

"Excellent."


	5. The Training

**A/N: **I am desperately trying to update this on here but with updating in on Lunaescence, I keep forgetting about it on here. I have a link to my Lunaescence account on my account page if you would like to go there and read it.

Reviews are so much appreciated.

Oh, and a special shout out to **QueenVamp **and **Sally Fantastic** for being my only reviewers so far. Your reviews are so appreciated. Thank you~

[1]: Grandfather  
[2]: "Grandfather...forgive me."  
[3]: "Stop it now."  
[4]: "I love you."  
[5]: "And I love you."  
[6]: Grandfather and grandmother  
[7]: The snow/furry hats

* * *

**Resurrection**  
_The Training_

_Until the time of your final test, which, if you pass, will make you one of us, my daughter, Talia, will head your training. The Batman is aware of your presence and if you were to go missing, it would rouse his suspicions and he could possibly disrupt my plans for his so-called kingdom. Therefore, she will remain in Gotham and you will not use your abilities until you have become an assassin. The Batman must not know of her presence or your training. Severe punishment will be dealt if you are caught breaking these instructions. I will be stopping by at periodic points to analyze your progress. If I deem you unworthy to continue, you will be disposed of. Our existence must kept what it is: a_ secret.

Anastasia squinted at the apartment building before glancing back down at the piece of paper clutched in her hand, making sure that she had arrived at the right place and at the right time. It might have been the threat Ra's al Ghul had given her, but she was sure punctuality was a necessary for this whole situation.

When she walked inside the building, a duffle bag full of workout gear, the man at the front desk gave her a wary glance when she gave the alias Talia was using when asked who she wanted to see, but called the room. Being given the go ahead, she was shuffled into the elevator and instructed to go to the top floor.

The doors to the elevator opened and she was met with darkness. The windows had been covered with something to keep out as much light as possible and it worked. It was obviously some kind of test–maybe for Talia to get a scope of her skills–so she had no choice but to step out of the safety of the elevator and into the line of fire.

Anastasia paused and cupped her hands, letting a flame flicker to life in her palms. It lit up the room and she glanced around just in time to see a darkness-shrouded figure coming at her. Her arms automatically went up to protect herself and the flame died out while she was sent sprawling to the ground, her cheek throbbing from where she had been punched.

"If you cannot defend yourself even with your abilities then there is much work ahead of us." An accented voice commented.

The teenager couldn't agree more.

* * *

"Where have you been? Do you know how late it is? You have school tomorrow, don't you?" Anastasia was bombarded with questions as soon as she walked through the front door.

Her gaze narrowed in suspicion at her mother. "I've been at the library doing a little bit of homework. It isn't like you really care, though. Who was it, huh? A social worker or was it grandfather?"

The older woman fidgeted in nervousness. "Why can't I just want to talk to you? We haven't talked since…" She looked away for a moment and sniffled before glancing back at the ground. "Nikolai called and wanted to talk to you. It might be a little early in Moscow, but he said for you to go ahead and call as soon as you got back."

Anastasia shrugged and took the phone her mother clutched before walking back into her room. She dialed the number and held the phone against her ear, tapping her foot on the floor while she waited for the other end to pick up.

"My Anastasia," her grandfather greeted her.

"Good morning, _ded_." She replied with a smile. [1]

The old man sighed over the other end. "It would be so much better if my darling granddaughter was here to share it with me. Your poor grandmother has been under the weather as of late. Her grief still hangs in the air."

"_Ded…prosti menya_…" She whispered with a trembling lower lip. [2]

"_Ostanovit' yego seychas_. You should not take the blame for what happened to that child. That city…it does something to people. It is no place to raise children. You have the strongest blood in our lineage. You are a fighter. That poor child, she should have never been born." [3]

Tears stung at the corners of her eyes and she shook her head. "How can you say that about her? Karina kept me grounded, kept me from being…"

"When your mother was with child, she could not completely keep off the poison and it was predicted that your sister would not live. Then, the child was born early, and it was said she would die. As you know, this was not the case." He explained.

"Then that should prove Karina is–" she cringed, "_was_ a fighter."

"No. Karina's life and death is proof that she was never meant for this world." A moment of tenseness passed between someone spoke in the background on the other end and he sighed. "Your grandmother is in need of me. We will talk later. Think of which school break would be best for you to come to Russia and visit with us."

Anastasia hadn't noticed she had been holding her breath until she let it out in a loud sigh. "Okay," she murmured. "_Ya lyublyu tebya_." [4]

"_I ya lyublyu tebya_." [5]

* * *

While she was vigorously searching through her textbook for the answers of the in-class assignment, something pressed against the middle of her thigh and she hissed in pain from the bruise there being prodded. She glanced over at Dick, who looked intently at her bruise before glancing up at her with a hard stare.

"What happened there?" He inquired though his tone said he already knew where it came from.

If Bruce _had_ told his ward about her issues with home–which she doubted since he seemed like a man of his word–Dick's assumption would still be wrong considering this particular bruise had come from training with Talia. When it came to her father, her face was where he would focus on and it was usually only a single time because he could keep his family quiet, but not people who noticed bruises on children.

"There was some scuffle between some brothers I was babysitting and I got hit in the process." Anastasia shrugged before her gaze narrowed at him. "Pay attention to the work you're supposed to be doing."

"And what about you?" He retorted to which she raised a brow. "Why are you so intent on the school calendar anyway?"

She looked around the classroom that was starting to get louder with chatter. She moved her desk a little closer to his and showed him the school calendar where she drew circles around all the breaks. "I'm looking at the breaks we have. I'm still not used to the schedule here."

"Are you already that sick of me?" Dick feigned hurt and pouted.

"Listen here, _princess_," she rolled her eyes while smiling slightly, "I need to know because I'm going to Russia on one of them. I'll probably go during the winter break…or maybe spring break?" She hummed in thought.

"Your family can afford a trip–" the teenager stopped and she could have sworn she saw his cheeks darken. "Uh, I didn't mean to offend you–"

Anastasia shrugged and her smile widened. "No. I understand why you would be confused about it. Don't get all embarrassed or anything." She teased. "_Ded_ is the head of a really big company–they dabble in a little bit of everything from what he's told me. _Babushka_ wants to see me as much as possible and they pay for my occasional trips. Oh, _ded_ and _babushka_ are Russian for–" [6]

"Grandfather and grandmother," her lips pursed and he laughed. "Bruce is big on the whole being multilingual. Plus, it might not be Russian like certain people, but you should know that I'm part Romany and proud."

Anastasia blinked in surprise. "A gypsy? And they call me the trash," she teased while nudging his arm. "I'm just kidding. I like the exotic." She purred.

"And I like your vodka and bears and _ushankas_." [7]

"Well at least I have ideas for birthday presents now."

* * *

"It has only been two weeks, but you are improving quickly." Talia commented while escorting Anastasia over to the couch in her penthouse apartment. "I am pleased and I'm sure my father will be as well when I tell him of your progress."

"Surviving means adapting," the younger replied while accepting a cup of tea from a servant, "also, I've been told that I'm a fighter. I guess that's what's been helping me so far."

Talia absentmindedly sipped her tea and nodded before she placed it back on the tray the servant held. "My father tells me that you are a metahuman, but he didn't go into details about what your abilities are. I saw a glimpse of them. Explain them in detail to me." The brunette ordered.

Anastasia cleared her throat. "I can manipulate the basic elements–fire, water, air, and earth–and different…um, versions of them." Talia raised an eyebrow and the teenager wracked her brain for another explanation. "Metal has some earth in it. It might be diluted, but it's there. That's what I mean."

"You can do this with ease?"

"The basic elements are a lot easier than the diluted ones. And, to be honest, I could probably use a lot more practice with the basic elements, too."

"As my father said before, you are not to use your abilities–not while you are in Gotham. In the future, if you are accepted as a member of the league, then someone will train you to further these abilities–my father, most likely, since he has a vast knowledge. You should know, if you pass, you will become the bodyguard of my father and myself."

Anastasia's gaze narrowed. "Do you really think that the people in the league will appreciate me coming in and becoming your bodyguard even though I haven't been doing this that long?"

"Our underlings do not question our judgment. You should learn this, too." She paused and then continued. "You will be the first metahuman–should you pass–to be a part of the league. After a certain point, you will become an assassin, but you will have more power than the rest of us, even me."

"What about Ra's al Ghul?" Anastasia asked with her lips pursed. "Does he have any kind of powers?"

"No. Father has the Lazarus Pit. It is, essentially, a rejuvenating pool. It gives him eternal life. It is why he has lived over six-hundred years. In this time, he has gained knowledge and you could not defeat him were you to rise against us."

The teenager tried to take this all in while keeping her mouth from opening and gaping at the fact that a man was over six-hundred, but then she remembered that she was a _metahuman_–she needed to look up that word sometime–and was it _really_ that hard for her to believe?

"What was it that brought you to my father? Rather, what did he see in you that made him offer you the deal to become an assassin of the league?"

"My baby sister was…murdered." Gaze moving to her lap, she clutched the cup of tea tighter. "And ever since then, I've been angry at this whole city because she's been killed and no one has done anything about it. No one cares. There's so much wrong with this city and Batman and Robin can only do so much about it."

"You are not going to become a vigilante." Talia explained with a hard stare. "You are to become an _assassin_. Do you understand this, Anastasia?"

"Yes, mistress."

Talia smirked–and it was very familiar to her father's, Anastasia noted. "You are learning. Good." She stood up from the couch. "When you talk about the future, you keep assuming that you will pass your final challenge."

"There's no assuming about it, mistress Talia. It's a definite."


	6. The Figurative Hostage

**A/N: **As I just apologized on Lunaescence, I am terribly sorry for not updating sooner. There is going to be something big revealed in this chapter. Also, I describe Anastasia physically for the first time in this chapter. At first, I wanted to leave it to the imagination of the reader, but I kept getting this mental image of her and caved into writing it.

I hope all of you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**Resurrection**  
_The Figurative Hostage_

Anastasia was silent against the mat while a blade was pressed against her throat. There was a hum of contemplation from the man hovering over her and the blade dug deeper into her skin but she remained unmoving. Her gaze trailed from his bare chest up to his mouth but never moved past that point. Though the actions were small, she knew that he noticed them. It was to show both he and his daughter that she was learning, growing.

"You are still weak, Miss Azarova." Ra's al Ghul commented while he stood up from his crouched position. "Though not as weak as you were two months ago. You are progressing. I am pleased by this." A servant held out a tray with a drink resting on it and he took it, sipping on it while passing her a towel from said servant's arm.

"Thank you, master." Anastasia replied curtly while bowing in front of him.

"And you are learning our hierarchy. Excellent," he walked past her and sat on the couch. She leaned up from her bowed position and followed him, but never sat down beside he or Talia. She, along with the rest of the servants, remained standing.

Talia sighed from opposite her father. "The Batman is aware of my presence in Gotham, Father." Anastasia went stiff and the woman glanced at her briefly. "I cannot be sure how much he is aware of at this point. I believe he is more suspicious above all else."

Ra's remained unaffected by this and his gaze stayed on the paper in his hand. "Wayne Enterprises is hosting a charity event, yes?" Talia sent him a perplexed look while she nodded in confirmation. "Then perhaps we should make an appearance." He glanced back at the teenager who stiffened once again. "_All_ of us."

* * *

"Instead of your physical and mental training this upcoming week, you will be trained in the customs of the upper class." Talia explained while the two of them traveled in a limousine to downtown Gotham. "We need to prepare you for the event." The brunette stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "You have a question?"

"A lot actually…uh, mistress." Even after a month, it was still hard to add a _mistress_ or _master_ to the end of her sentences when Ra's and Talia al Ghul were present. "I could see why a member of the league would need to learn these skills since you need to learn to blend in with not just the environment, but society too." Talia actually looked surprised that she had figured that out on her own. "But why are we going to this charity thing?"

Talia glanced out the window. "We are going to make a statement."

"To Batman?"

"Yes."

Anastasia heard the finality in her answer and decided not to ask anymore questions, but she spent the entire ride trying to figure out how attending a charity event would make any kind of statement to a vigilante.

"Are you acquainted with Richard Grayson and Bruce Wayne?" Her mentor questioned after they had parked in front of some dress shop. "Our surveillance before your training states that you were, but are you still in close contact with both of them?"

"Yes, mistress." Her lips pursed and her face heated up. "Dick–um, _Richard_ is my best friend and we're…uh, close." She momentarily feared that the older woman would ban her from having anymore contact with him.

Talia merely nodded in response.

* * *

Richard Grayson tugged at his suit while glancing around the crowded room with obvious annoyance and impatience. Instead of his Friday night being spent either with his best friend or fighting crime, both he and his guardian had been dragged to a charity event by their butler who stated: "The two of you must keep up appearances. The public has a negative look on hermit-like behavior."

When he glanced around the room again, searching for Bruce, he instead found another teenager who was conversing with a group of older men and women. It surprised him that there was another person his age here. Most of the time, the socialites left their children at home.

Deciding to indulge in his inner playboy, he grinned and strolled up to said teenager. He tapped on her shoulder and when she turned to face him, his entire body tensed up and his cheeks started turning a light shade of pink.

"_Anastasia_?"

Dark curls fell over the bare shoulders of his best friend and her emerald gaze was more stunning than usual due to the complimenting makeup. His gaze fell to the black dress that cut off at her knees, accenting her feminine curves. When he glanced back up at her, she was staring at the floor intensely, gripping the small handbag in her hands tighter, and her cheeks had been dusted a light pink–much like his own.

Once he could get past the initial awkwardness of the situation, he cleared his throat and held his arm out to her. She apologized to the group behind her briefly before locking her arm in his own, letting him escort her out to the dance floor. He desperately searched for his father but was unsuccessful in spotting him out in the large crowd.

"As much as I'm not complaining about dancing with a beautiful woman," she snorted at his comment and he managed a weak grin, "this doesn't seem to be your type of crowd. Weren't you the one that was complaining to Bruce about the _one percent_?"

Anastasia cleared her throat. "Well, I'm here with some…acquaintances?" Her gaze swept across the room. "I think you might know them. Well, I know Bruce definitely knows the two of them." She explained. "Ra's and Talia al Ghul?"

Dick had been so stunned by the revelation that he stopped mid-dance and in turn, his partner stumbled, sending the two of them crashing to the floor. The crowd around them stopped and murmured amongst themselves while he quickly got to his feet, helping his best friend to her feet while she grumbled under her breath in Russian.

"I have to find Bruce."

* * *

"You see, detective, this child came to me of her own free will when this cesspool of a city and you abandoned her. She will become an assassin. She will become my personal guard. With her abilities under my control, not even you will be able to touch me." Ra's al Ghul, his daughter, and Bruce Wayne all stared in unison at the two interacting teenagers.

Bruce's gaze narrowed dangerously at the immortal. "If she knew who you really are, I doubt she would have come willingly. If she knew what the league really was–"

"Oh, but she does, beloved." Talia responded. "I explained to her that she would be an assassin should she pass her test and she seemed satisfied with this."

"I know who she is. I know her well enough. When that moments comes, she is going to make the right decision." The billionaire gave a tight smile to Anastasia and Dick who made their way over to the small group, his ward looking as anxious as he was when he saw the two with him.

Ra's smiled at the teenager who was waving weakly at him and Talia and placed a hand on the shoulder of the host of the event. "I doubt that, detective, considering her final test will be to execute the man that murdered her little sister." He chuckled. "It has been so easy to bend her to my will. All it took to ignite the powder keg was to hire that pathetic man to murder the child, Anastasia's darling sister."

Bruce's jaw clenched. "I thought you only spilled necessary blood. Even this is low for someone like you."

"This has been necessary. I need protection from your alter ego. And perhaps, she could become the heir that you refuse to be."

"I won't let that happen, Ra's."

"And how do you plan on doing this? If I suspect that you or your protégé are trying to manipulate her, I will murder her and find someone else to replace her."

Bruce crossed his arms over his chest and scowled at the man standing across from him. "You're holding her hostage."

"If you wish to look at it in that manner then yes. Have a good evening, detective."


	7. The Family

**A/N: **I keep telling myself that I need to update this enough to get it caught up with the story on Lunaescence, but I keep forgetting. XD Again, if you would like to read ahead, this same story is on my account on Lunaescence [the link to my profile is on my profile page on this site]. I hope that you all like this chapter.

Reviews are very much appreciated and thank you to all that have and continue to update me!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anyone from the DC Universe. I alone own Anastasia and any other characters from my own mind.

[1]: Mother

* * *

**Resurrection**  
_The Family_

"_…and in other news, due to speculation about the Haly's Circus returning to Gotham, a statement has been released by the circus stating that there are no current dates for a tour in the United States._" Anastasia stood in front of the television, her finger lingering over the button to turn it off. "_If you remember, the circus visited Gotham four years ago but was shadowed by the tragic deaths of the Flying Graysons, better known as the biological parents of Richard Grayson, the ward of Bruce Wayne. The anniversary of their deaths will be tomorrow–_" the screen went black and she stood there, staring at the screen for a few more minutes.

"Karina, get to bed." Her mother hissed from the couch while turning over, bringing the blanket the wrongly mentioned daughter had placed over her. A few moments passed before she visibly stiffened, turning her head over her shoulder, staring at the teenager with sorrow. "Oh, I didn't mean to…I'm…"

Anastasia shook her head, gaze narrowed and lips pursed. "Force of habit. It's fine. Go to sleep." She left to the nearby bedroom without another word and ignored the quiet sobs of the broken woman on the couch.

* * *

Far into the middle of the night, Anastasia sat in the middle of her bedroom, a bowl full of mud placed in front of her. Considering her mother's comment had and mostly like would keep her up for the rest of the night, she decided to work on her abilities that had been untouched since the night she rescued Batman and Robin.

Anastasia had never tried to hone her elemental abilities outside the few times she went to Russia where her grandfather practically demanded to work with her in fear that she would loose touch with their heritage. Since those times had been few, she had practically lost everything he taught her and the only way she could activate her powers were in times of stress.

And even though she had lost most of the knowledge, one thing he had pounded into her head remained. _To control an element, you must become the element_, her grandfather explained. _Air demands peace, water demands adaptability, fire demands will, earth demands stubbornness. Learn to become the element and you will become the strongest in our family, stronger even than me, my dearest Anastasia._

The teenager stared down at the bowl with her grandfather's speech running through her mind, determined to make the sludge move. After a few moments passed, it floated into the air, and she pictured it morphing into a ball and it obeyed her command. After she allowed it back in the bowl, she focused on it again, but instead willing out the water that made up half of it. After minutes instead of moments, the water leaked out into the air, leaving behind the dirt.

"Ana, sweetheart," her mother's thick accent said from the other side of the door.

Anastasia sighed and let the water fall back into the bowl, shoving it under her bed as she stood up from the floor. She opened the door, a sour look on her face, and her mother cringed at the look she received, twiddling her thumbs in nervousness.

"What do you want, _mat'_? I told you that what you said was okay." [1]

"It's not about that," she murmured, "but I am sorry about what I said. It's been…hard on us since she died."

Anastasia's gaze narrowed and her lips pursed. "I noticed. Once you were back on that needle, you two were shoving it in your arms even more than before." She snorted. "I can't tell if it's because you don't have to keep up the mommy and daddy image in front of her anymore or because you really do want to shove all that pain down."

"Things have been hard on us since you were born, Anastasia. When we moved here, we had bigger dreams than this, but…things changed." The older woman shook her head. "I didn't wake you up to talk about this. I just…I want to check on you, talk to you. We've been wrapped up in dealing with our own pain–" her daughter snorted but she ignored it, "and I just want to know if you're doing okay."

"I'm dealing with it the best I can. I'm doing fine in school despite some earlier slacking. I'm probably going to spend the entire day with my best friend. Is there anything else you want to know about?" She snapped.

Her mother smiled gently. "A best friend? What is his name?"

Anastasia paused before sighing. "His name is Dick Grayson–the ward of Bruce Wayne and all that."

"There have been stories about him all over the news today. Something about his–oh. Is that why you're going to spend the day with him?" Her response was a sigh and nod. "That is very sweet of you."

"Uh, thank you." The teenager glanced around. "Look, _mat'_, I'm feeling tired now so I think I'm going to go to bed. You should, too." She started closing the door but paused. "The parent-teacher conferences are tomorrow. I'll wake you up in the morning and you better not be loaded." She warned before closing the door.

Anastasia leaned against the door, sighing as she listened to the footsteps of her mother fading away. She glanced toward her cell phone charging next to her bed that had suddenly lit up with a text message. When she walked over and picked it up, she blinked against the bright light and saw that it was Dick that had sent her the message.

**Having trouble sleeping.**

**You and me both**, she replied with a small smile before frowning again. **Am I allowed to talk about seeing you on the news or is that a no-no?**

**If you want to talk about how gorgeous I was or how awesome my ass looked then go ahead.**

She snorted and grinned while her fingers flew across the keys. **Maybe in a few years or something, jailbait.**

**Not even going to go there with you, Ana. Since school is out for the parent-teacher conferences, want to hang out tomorrow?**

**It's like you read my mind. But I have to go to school with my mom first.**

**Bruce is coming. too. We can meet up there.**

_Great_, Anastasia thought with dread while shoving her face into her pillow. _Showing off my junkie mom to a billionaire. That'll be fun._

* * *

Anastasia was starting to regret her decision to invite her mother to the conference. Not only did she have to deal with her mother fidgeting in nervousness, tugging at her sleeves to hide the track marks, and glancing around in paranoia, but she also had to deal with the other students and their parents who murmured, sniggered, and gasped at the two of them as they walked down the halls.

"You don't think they know about…" Her mother trailed off. "Do you?"

"No. They're staring because we're poor and don't belong here."

"Oh." She frowned. "Is this what you deal with all the time, Anastasia?"

"…Dick helps."

After receiving the usual bragging from her teachers that she was such a well-mannered and excellent student who her mother should be proud of, Anastasia had practically dragged her mother toward the entrance of the academy where she could put her on a bus without Bruce and Dick meeting her.

Of course, as months ago proved, she just didn't have any luck on her side.

When she heard Dick calling her name from down the hallway, both mother and daughter turned around to face the father and son approaching them.

"They can understand Russian." Anastasia hissed when she heard her mother muttering in their native language. "And pull down your sleeves all the way. I can see your track marks." Her mother blushed and she sighed. "Sorry. I just want this to be over with."

"Hello ladies." Dick grinned and slithered up to her mother, taking her hand in his and kissing it briefly. "I can see where Ana gets her good looks from."

"It's nice to meet you too, Dick. Good morning to you as well, Mister Wayne. My name is Sonya Azarova and I'm Anastasia's mother." Her mother smiled at the two of them, shaking Bruce's hand when he extended it.

"A pleasure, Sonya." The whispering around them grew in loudness and behind Bruce, Dick was glowering at the closet group he could. "I apologize about this."

Sonya shook her head. "It's nothing we can't handle. Isn't that right, Ka–" she stopped.

Anastasia's entire body locked up and her gaze narrowed at the older woman who cringed but the two of them forced a smile. "Sorry but my mom has to catch her bus. I'll meet up with you in a few minutes if you don't mind waiting for me." Dick shook his head and she grabbed at her mother's wrist. "Okay then. I'll be right back. Thanks for being patient."

* * *

"Until Alfred is done shopping, we'll have to find something to do around Wayne Tower. Is that alright?"

Anastasia stared over the edge of the tower, emerald gaze wide. "If I get a view like this, I think I can handle it." She looked over her shoulder and smiled. He smiled back while shaking out his smoothed back hair and she frowned. "If you don't like it, why wear it like that?"

"It looks more _professional_." He rolled his eyes and instead of leaning to look over the edge of the building, he sat down on the railing. She opted to lean against it. "Alfred likes it so I indulge him."

"You sound so enthusiastic, D."

"New nickname, _A_?"

"A problem with that, D?"

"Not at all, A."

Her eyes rolled and she looked out toward the horizon. Silence passed between the two of them before Dick spoke up. "Your mom seemed nice…"

"Despite being a total junkie, right?" His mouth opened and she shook her head. "You can say it. I mean, it's not like it's new to me. I've been dealing with it since I was practically a baby."

"Are you okay? After she called you–"

"Today is about making sure _you're okay_. So, yeah. Talk about your feelings. I will be the shoulder for you to cry on." Dick stared at her hard and she raised an eyebrow. "What? I'm fine, Dick. What you dealt with–"

"Happened _four_years ago," he cut her off with a grimace. "Ana, what happened to you was only months ago and Bruce doesn't go around loaded and beating me and calling me by my dead dad's name." He saw the look on her face and glared at nothing in particular. "I notice the bruises and that you only wear makeup on certain days, A."

Anastasia leaned away from the railing, crossing her arms over her chest, a pained look painted on her face. Dick stood up on the railing, towering over her, and grabbed one of her hands, taking it in his while looking at her sadly. She looked up at him with tears pooling in her emerald eyes before carefully wrapping her arms around him.

"Thanks for being my best friend, Dick."

Awkwardly shuffling off the edge, he then returned her embrace. "I could say the same thing to you, Anastasia."


	8. The Shadow

**A/N: **Hello, hello, hello! I'm real sorry I haven't updated in a while but I can announce that I'm getting close to finishing up this story. I'll let you know when the ending is coming up. Please let me know what you think of the story in a review! I would really appreciate it! Oh, and thank you everyone who has reviewed me! I love you all so, so much!

* * *

**Resurrection**  
_The Shadow_

Since there was no one to guide her on proper vigilantism techniques, Anastasia decided to start off with something simple enough: dealing with the small fish–the thugs, the pimps, the drug dealers, and all the other assorted criminals. After all, the whole _learning to crawl before you can walk_speech applies to being a vigilante, too…or so she assumed.

One thing Anastasia could be certain of was that the near future would be the hardest part of her life aside from loosing her little sister. She would have to make sure that no one found out her identity, make sure that Batman and Robin were unaware of her presence on the scene, keep up with her training sessions–that were becoming more brutal as time passed–and schooling at the academy.

_It'll be hell,_ Anastasia thought while tugging the black mask over her face. _But I've dealt with the demon himself._

* * *

Adjusting the black suit that Talia had given her for training in stealth, she then glanced over the edge of the abandoned apartment building she had climbed up to. Beneath her, a man surrounded by a group of children collected his profit from them while giving them a small share and another cut to sell. The rest of the children left except for a smaller girl who he commanded stay behind.

The teenager on top of the roof hissed in anger before she glanced toward the fire escape. The pedophile was preoccupied with reprimanding the little girl before actually hurting her, so Anastasia took the chance to quickly make her way down to the ground without a sound.

While she approached the man from behind, the girl–who looked terrified as the man approached her, tugging his zipper down as he did–noticed Anastasia and opened her mouth to speak, but the elder held up a finger to her mouth to silence the child. Receiving the message loud and clear, the girl said nothing and looked back up at her attacker in terror.

"What the hell are you looking at?" The man snarled while turning around, but Anastasia had already blended in with the shadows surrounding them. "Stupid little bitch. You can't do a damn thing right, can you?" He turned back around and stalked toward the whimpering girl.

Anastasia approached him silently, jumping on his back and wrapping her arms around his neck. The man made a strangled noise and jerked around, trying to get her off him. After a few moments of his struggling, he slammed his back–along with her–against a nearby wall, but she still held on without a sound of pain.

"Let…go…" He murmured breathlessly, dropping to his knees. "The hell…going on?" He tried to use his hands to grab her, but his slow movements were easy enough for her to dodge.

At this point, Anastasia could have easily taken the knife hidden on her person and ended this scum in various ways. With the right technique, she could have even snapped his neck. The training might not have been long, but she had learned enough to be deadly. And something like this was what that very training prepared her for–taking out someone that deserved death.

The man went limp against her and she stood up straight, shoving him to the ground with her foot. When she glanced up at the girl, older than Karina by a few years, who stared at her in wonder and awe, the horrifying realization that she couldn't kill this man hit her head on.

Anastasia might have been angry at the world and the scum on the ground in front of her might have been as low as someone could get, but even he had a family, someone that would be as upset as she was about loosing Karina.

"Go get someone to call the police for you." The teenager commanded. "And don't you mention me, kid. You tell them someone else attacked this guy. You got that?"

"Thank you, ninja lady." The little girl squeaked before shuffling out of the alleyway.

The man on the ground was groaning and she hopped on his back, making him groan and come to full consciousness. "Listen here," she murmured darkly in his ear, "I'm not going to kill you. Dying is too good for you. You need to suffer like the worthless piece of shit you are."

"Fu–" when she pulled out her knife and flashed it in front of him, he went silent.

"You're going to suffer tonight. And if you even mention me to the cops or any of your dealing buddies, I'm going to find you and turn you into a woman without the formal surgery. That'll be just to start."

Killing someone and crippling someone were two completely different things. Anastasia might not have had it in her to murder another person, but she wouldn't let him get off the hook like that. He was going to suffer for what he had done. That was a more fitting punishment, she assumed, living with the reminder of his crimes for the rest of his life.

* * *

Throughout the past week, she had been making her mark on Gotham. At first, there was debate on whether or not it was the Batman, but when the style was deemed to brutal for him, she had been dubbed the Shadow because of her ability to blend in with the darkness and swallow up the criminals. And thus far, she hadn't come into contact with Batman, Robin, or any suspicion from Talia and she hoped it would stay like that.

Speaking of the daughter of the demon, she had left Gotham for the weekend on business for her father. Considering it had been six months to the day that Karina was murdered, it was welcomed by the teenager.

Even when she didn't want to have the thoughts of the league on her mind, she couldn't stop thinking about her first night of vigilantism. To be an assassin meant she had to take the life of someone Ra's al Ghul deemed unworthy to live and if she couldn't do that then she would be killed. And it wasn't as if she could go to Talia and tell the woman that she had a change of heart and promised not to tell about the league.

Anastasia had no way out but death and it terrified her.

The dark-haired teenager shoved the heels of her hands against her eyes that were slowly filling with tears, trying to shove the thoughts into the back of her mind as well. A bump in the road sent her sleeping best friend's head onto her shoulder, pulling her away from her mind for the moment.

"Um, was Dick up late last night?" Anastasia looked toward Bruce with a raised brow.

"You're more likely to know that, aren't you? The two of you are constantly talking to each other." Bruce looked up from the paperwork in his lap and smiled in amusement when her face went red.

"We don't text each other that much, you know." She mumbled under her breath before clearing her throat. "I've been thinking that I should say sorry for coming over to your house so much. It seems like all I do these days is go to school, work, and come over. I'm pretty sure I'm living with you guys. And I'm sure that you and your girlfriend want some alone time with Dick but I feel like I'm hogging him and I'm–"

"Eden's work has her away from Gotham most of the time. When she manages a visit, she'll find time for Dick whether you're there or not. If you happen to be visiting–which you don't have to apologize for because we enjoy you at the manor–when she comes, she'll have no problem including you. She's eager to finally meet you."

Anastasia smiled slightly before she frowned. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Someone I'm close to in my neighborhood got initiated into this gang and the head boss wants my friend to do something bad. My friend doesn't want to do that bad thing, but if they try to get out of the gang now, they'll be killed. What can they do? It's been bugging me a lot over the past week and you're one of the few adults I'm able to take advice from."

The two of them stared at one another, tension rising in the air between them. Anastasia tried to keep the rising desperation from reaching her eyes, but she needed some kind of opinion, even if it was from someone that came from a life of luxury, the worst thing in his life being the murder of his mother and father when he was just a child–but that was enough to make her trust him because he knew that pain she felt.

"Your friend should contact someone that can help. There are people who can protect this person."

She shook her head, trying to quell the rising panic. "But this gang has…connections. I don't think the police could protect my friend forever. Plus, the police don't exactly care all that much about people from my neck of the woods."

"There is more than just the police force, Anastasia."

"Who? The Batman?" She snorted and he raised an eyebrow. "No offense, but I think he has a lot more to deal with than some kid from the Narrows." Her voice lowered. "No one cares about us. We're a place full of broken dreams and broken people. Gotham wishes it could get rid of us. I think that's the reason why the police stay out of our area most of the time. The city is letting us duke it out, survival of the fittest and stuff."

"To see someone so disillusioned at such a young age is a sad thing." Alfred commented from behind the wheel.

Anastasia leaned her head against the window, giving a shrug of the shoulders. "I guess something like that happens when you get cheated out of your childhood. And I think everyone in this car can agree with me on that."

* * *

"I smell cookies." Anastasia mumbled under her breath while her fingers flew over the controller in her hand.

"Loser has to go to the kitchen to get them." Dick replied while he shot another random player in their game. "Loser meaning whoever gets killed by the other first."

She snorted while avoiding bullets that came from a random soldier. "That might take a long time and you know how Bruce likes to hog Alfred's cookies." While dodging the bullets of another player, when she finally registered Dick's screen name getting close to her own, it was too late and he had stabbed her. "That's not fair!"

"Totally is!" Dick laughed while throwing his arms up in victory.

Anastasia pouted at him and he grinned while motioning toward the doorway. Stomping her feet, she sulked out of the room and headed downstairs toward the kitchen where Alfred was placing the cookies onto a plate. When his back was turned, focused on finishing up dinner, she took the chance and slowly tip-toed toward the plate.

"I assume you have come for a drink instead of partaking in dessert before dinner which will ruin your appetite, I might add."

Anastasia stopped in her place, looking longingly at the cookies. "And that goes for you as well, Master Bruce." She turned around, blinking at the larger man who had the same look as her when she had been caught.

"Alfred, I'm an adult and Anastasia isn't a legal member of the family."

The butler turned around, sending a stern look toward the both of them. "Legal is a loose term, Bruce." She giggled but when he sent her the same look, she was quickly silenced. "Miss Anastasia is a part of our family and will be treated as such. Now, the two of you will step back from the cookies and wait until dinner is announced."

Both Bruce and Anastasia made their way out of the kitchen and as they marched back up the staircase, he slipped her two cookies. When she looked up at him, munching on a cookie of his own, he winked at her and she grinned while slipping back into the room where Dick yelled at the screen where his player had been shot dead.


	9. The Fears

**A/N: **I am very sorry for not updating sooner, but since my flash drive [where all past chapters had been saved] went dead and Lunaescence was shut down for a time [which is where past chapters have been posted], I couldn't update.

So, to make up for it, I'm going to post two chapters and can announce that the story on both here and Lunaescence will be up to date!

Thank you all so much for sticking in with me on this!

* * *

**Resurrection**  
_The Fears_

Anastasia stumbled across something huge on her patrol of the Narrows, just by the docks bordering Gotham Bay. Getting as close as she could on a rooftop without actually touching the ground, she could see a large group of men preparing containers and hanging them over the water.

_Something to contaminate the water?_ She assumed while biting on a nail. _But why even bother–wait. Of course. Water from the bay is used for drinking water in Gotham. Doesn't the plant purify it, though? Maybe the chemical's hard to get rid of or something. Damn, this isn't some small fry operation. This is a shark operation._

Her emerald gaze roamed over the men, attempting to point out the mastermind of the operation–a villain she might have seen on the television after Batman thwarted them. After a few moments, she heard a loud cackling and someone screaming in delight, but she couldn't understand them from her distance. She saw the signature farmer's hat and the name Scarecrow passed through her mind.

_Definitely a job for Batman but I can't leave now, she thought to herself. If I stay up here where they can't pinpoint my position, that should give Batman time to get here and I don't have to worry about any of that poison stuff he uses._ She nodded her head in affirmation to herself. _It sounds like a plan._

Anastasia stood to her full height, taking a deep breath. Spreading her feet apart on the ground and rooting herself, she stretched out her arms and slowly curled her fingers, fighting against an invisible force that was essentially the ground not wanting to bend to her mental will. Eventually, when closing her fingers got easier, she heard the ground near the Scarecrow and his crew give way to her will and start to crack. When she was able to close her fingers into a fist against the invisible force, the ground split open underneath them.

Cries echoed through the area and she grunted against the force, stretching her arms out in front of her before slowly pulling them back toward her body. The asphalt lifted back from the earth underneath it, sending the containers rolling back and knocking over various henchmen in their way.

When Anastasia saw Batman coming onto the scene, she backed away from the edge of the building, feeling satisfied with her work. But as she turned around, a hand launched out and wrapped around her throat. She wheezed as the masked man with the farmer's hat lifted her off the ground.

"What an interesting power you have there." His head tilted to the side, voice eerie. "Are you the _Shadow_? A little girl has been spreading so much _fear_ throughout the underbelly of this city?" He chuckled darkly. "If only you had fought _with_ me. Not against me. We could spread fear through Gotham together."

"I'll have to pass on that," she grunted. _Kind of already working under a bad person_, she added as an afterthought. "Put me down and I promise not to beat that…_pretty_ face of yours into the ground."

The Scarecrow laughed and it sent chills down her spine. "You talk tough but why don't we peel back the layers of that mind? Why don't we see what the tough little girl is really scared of?" On his other hand was a glove with syringes as the fingertips and as hard as she tried to get avoid the needles, he had the advantage and sunk them into her skin, making her cringe in pain.

Anastasia was dropped and landed on the ground with a thud, feeling the toxin course through her veins from where it had entered her body, her skin itching at the places she felt it move through. Her head swam for a moment and she clawed at her arm, her skin suddenly burning. When she closed her eyes and opened them again, Karina was standing in front of her.

Except that this little girl was a corpse, her hair and skin peeling away, empty eye sockets boring into her older sister. A bullet hole in the middle of her forehead tore at Anastasia's heart and when the little girl shuffled toward her, she backed up as far as she could without falling over the edge of the building.

"No. No, this isn't real. _You_ aren't–"

The skeletal child opened its decaying mouth and let out an inhuman screech and a gasp of pain escaped Anastasia. Her vision went foggy for a moment before bile rose up in her throat and she doubled over, emptying the contents of her stomach. When she leaned back up, the girl was standing in front of her and Anastasia screamed in terror, throwing out her hands in attempt to fend off the creature, but something held her arms back.

Whatever invisible force was holding her back pulled her down against the ground and she looked up at the rotting corpses of her mother and father. The both of them raised up their other arm, showing her their track marks, and when she blinked, they were holding needles and lowered them down to her arms.

"No!" Anastasia screamed in horror. "No! Not the needles! No!" She screeched and ripped her arms away from them, throwing them toward the figures, a gust of wind knocking the corpses over.

She managed to rise to her feet but the nausea hit her again and she was on her knees, dry heaving because there was nothing left to get rid of. She looked over her shoulder and saw those creatures coming toward her again and she ran, despite her dizziness. But her skeletal sister then blocked her way, nearing the terrified teenager.

"Ana," it gurgled and then it was her normal baby sister but that damned bullet hole still stared down Anastasia, dripping crimson. "How come you don't miss me anymore, Ana? Did I do something wrong? Why don't you cry for me anymore?"

"No! This is all for you! Of course I miss you! Ka–"

"Then come be with me in death!"

The face of Karina morphed into that of the Scarecrow and Anastasia gasped, backing up, but nothing was there and she fell back. The rotting hand of her father reached out for her, but its fingers caught nothing and the sound of a gunshot rang through the air. Blood spurted from the wound in her arm and she screamed but someone had caught her. Her heart was pumping so fast in her chest that she couldn't hear anything else and her vision went black. There was a prick in her arm.

Then there was nothing.

* * *

Something had cast a fog over her mind and when she was conscious for a moment, she could have sworn she saw someone familiar, some older man that might have been Alfred or her grandfather, but whatever cast that haziness knocked her out before she could think on it longer.

That same routine of drifting in and out of consciousness happened to her so much that it seemed like a month had passed but when she woke up in some kind of a makeshift infirmary, a mere few hours had gone by. Still feeling groggy, she managed to turn her head, noting outside the infirmary was a cave and a huge bat was walking toward her.

_Ugh. No, Anastasia. That's Batman. And you don't have your mask on and you are so fucked right now. You get an E for effort on the ninja thing,_ she ranted inside her head, giggling somewhat at that last quip at herself.

"The morphine is still working itself out of your system. You're going to be like that for some time." Batman grabbed a chair sitting in the corner of the makeshift infirmary and sat in it, his uniform making him seem too large for the chair. "You're the Shadow," there was no sort of questioning in his tone, just stating fact.

"I like E better. _The Shadow_," she stuck her tongue out at the name, "is too cliché. Yeah, I like E. I need an E for effort because I suck at this. Or it could stand for _element_ since, you know, I can manipulate them and stuff. But _you_," she wagged a finger at him, "already knew that."

Though she couldn't see his actual face, she could sense he was raising an eyebrow at her. "I'm going to assume that the reason you're being so uncharacteristically chatty is because of the morphine which will also explain how you can be in such good spirits after your…ordeal."

"And what is your excuse?" She retorted. "How come you brought me to your cave? Or rather how come you haven't taken me back to the Narrows after curing me? Something tells me you wouldn't be so nice to other people trying to do the vigilante thing."

"I needed to keep you for observation. The Scarecrow gave you a huge dose of his toxin. Now that you're awake, we need to talk about what you're doing."

"_Bingo_," she drawled out the word sarcastically. "I knew it was coming." The masked vigilante sent her a scowl and she retorted with one of her own. "Nice try, but I've seen scarier than that."

"Ra's al Ghul no doubt," he commented.

Anastasia jolted up from the gurney but a wave of dizziness rushed over her and he had to reach out and grab her arm to keep her from falling back and hitting her head. "How do you–" she shook her head. "I guess nothing can get past you no matter how hard they try to hide it from you." She grumbled under her breath.

"I've been keeping track of Ra's al Ghul and Talia since they arrived in Gotham. They're training you to become a member of the League of Assassins, aren't they?" Though he knew no doubt knew the answer, she nodded in affirmation.

"You're angry because of what happened to your sister but seeking out Ra's al Ghul was not the right thing to do. He's a dangerous man and nothing good is waiting for you on this path." He placed a hand on her shoulder but the gesture seemed awkward to her. "You need to step away from this before the price gets too high. You need to let go of your anger."

The attempt he made to be comforting to her seemed too out of character for him and she couldn't be sure if the anger she had been battling for months snaked its way up because of that or because she was just so exhausted by life, but the rage made her snap. She shoved his hand on her shoulder away and glowered up at him.

"All you adults keep acting like you know what's best for me, you keep telling me that I just need to get over what happened, to forgive and forget. Well, you know what? That's a lot to ask of someone. What the hell am I supposed to do? Remember all the good stuff about her? I tried that but all I remember is the way I kept screaming at her to wake up, all the blood, that hole in the middle of her forehead. I'm _angry_ and nothing is going to make that go away except beat down a whole lot of people who deserve it.

"And you're one to talk to me about letting anger go." She pointed an accusing finger at him. "I don't know what caused it but there was something traumatic that happened to you that made you become the Batman and since you're still wearing the cape I'm willing to bet that you haven't let go of whatever it is either."

A moment of silence passed between the two of them. "I'm telling you to let go because of that very reason, because you're on the path to become like me."

"That's a good thing, isn't it?"

"Ask the people who know the man behind the mask."

* * *

After the Batman had dropped her off–blindfolded, of course–she made her way to her apartment, feeling exhausted and in desperate need of sleep.

In the middle of her trek, she had to stop in an alleyway and lean her forehead against a brick wall as memories of the encounter with Scarecrow slipped to the forefront of her mind. It made her shudder as she remembered that skeletal little girl that was supposed to be her sister, the way it screamed at her that she had forgotten, didn't care anymore, and the way those things that were supposed to be her mother and father almost shoved needles into her…

The fear toxin, as the media had named it, was reported to bring those deep-down hidden fears out to an individual and once they were preoccupied, either the Scarecrow or his henchmen killed the infected or said person's heart just gave out on them from the fear.

Anastasia could understand the reason Karina showed up because, deep down, she was terrified that she would forget her sister and she felt like she wasn't ready for letting go no matter what everyone else kept telling her. And when she thought about the thing with her parents, she assumed that she was terrified of ending up like them, succumbing to the needle, and spending the rest of her life numbed to the outside world.

"Whoa! You're that person everyone's been talking about!" A high-pitched voice called out from behind her. "The, um, the Shadow!"

When she turned around and got a good look at the little dark-haired boy, his expression went sour. "You're a girl? Everyone is scared of a girl?"

As she looked over the crowbar in his hands and the car that was propped up on block, her expression turned to match his own. A tense silence passed between the two of them and she opened her mouth to speak but saw someone stumbling down the alley, swaying back and forth.

"What the fuck?" The drunk snarled while grabbing the boy's wrist. "You little shit! This is my car!" He pulled his arm back and knocked the child against the wall and raised his arm back, going to smash the bottle of beer over the child's head, but Anastasia had approached the scene and grabbed his arm.

"I suggest you leave now." She threatened.

"And what are you going to do, little girl?" He grabbed at her shirt but she slapped his hand away from her. "Oh, you think you're tough, huh? Who do you think you are? Batman?" He laughed mockingly.

"My name," she whispered dangerously, "is _E_." And slammed her fist against the side of his head, sending him crashing against the brick into unconsciousness.

Anastasia thought about just leaving after that, letting the brat learn from his lesson the hard way, but when she heard his quiet sniffling, her heart melted. She turned around and bent down next to him, looked over from his emerald gaze to the trembling lip back up to a small gash on his forehead.

"Here," she murmured while pulling off her mask and touching the cloth to his forehead in attempt to stop the bleeding.

"You…you took off your mask." He pointed out.

"I trust you to not go around and tell people about who I am especially since I just saved you from a lot worse than a little bleeding." She retorted with an amused smile. "Keep this on the bleeding then clean it up. I don't think it should need stitches. Keep the mask as something to remember me by."

The little boy looked up at her with shining eyes and she touched his face. "Hey, don't cry. It'll be alright. I promise." She stood up to her full height and flicked his forehead. "That's punishment for doing something so stupid."

He frowned and she responded with her own frown of disapproval. "I'm being serious here. That's going to get you into trouble someday, kid, so you better stop doing it now before someone bigger than me comes along and catches you." She warned while glanced toward the car briefly.

"My name is _Jason_," he snarled while struggling to his feet, clutching her mask to his forehead, "not _kid_." And then he was dashing into the darkness, probably never to be seen by her again.

"Not even a thank you," Anastasia mumbled in exhaustion, "some people…"


	10. The Calm Before the Storm

**A/N: **As always, leave me a review and let me know what you think about the chapter!

[1]: "Mother, I love you."  
[2]: "Thank you, Anastasia."  
[3]: "Who is that?"  
[4]: "You're lying. Are you sleeping with him?"/"Tell him to stop looking at me like that."  
[5]: "My name is Dick Grayson."

* * *

**Resurrection**  
_The Calm Before the Storm_

More and more of their training sessions had been cancelled, but Anastasia had failed to notice the pattern until a month had passed since her meeting with Batman. When there was a training session, it was much more intense and much more deadlier than it ever had been before. All that she could guess, since she had learned to never question Talia, was that she was nearing the end of her tutorage under the older woman which meant that her final test with said woman's was approaching and that thought was something that had kept her up more than one night.

Ra's al Ghul, who had been visiting their training sessions about as much as she and Talia had them, was becoming a source of terror for Anastasia because she was more scared about him finding out her secrets than Talia. Each time he took over her training, she could feel his gaze on her, piercing as he watched each move she made, almost like he could see inside her–as cliché as that might have been.

Most of the time, she thought about breaking down and seeking out Batman to help her, run Ra's and Talia al Ghul out of Gotham for good, but she figured he had more on his plate and didn't have the time to sweep up a mess she made. Sure, he had tried an intervention, but she had been hostile–which is putting it mildly–toward his attempt and she was sure he didn't give out second chances.

When it came down to it, Anastasia was running out of time, running out of options and she was terrified of the future.

"Ana," she blinked toward the person waving a hand in front of her face and gave her best friend a sheepish smile while he frowned. "Are you whelmed? You seem stressed out."

"I'm fine. I appreciate the concern, but…yeah. A little exhausted, but doing fine." She breathed out while glancing toward the bus stop the two of them were approaching. "We should stop talking about me and talk about how you need to go home and rest. You look awful, Dick. You shouldn't have walked me here."

Her companion's gaze narrowed at her, but he subconsciously wiped an arm across his sweat-covered forehead. "I'm serious, A. If something is up then tell me."

"The sky is up and I'm telling you. Happy now?" The frown stretched across his face widened and he opened his mouth, but she smiled wryly and cut him off. "Get back to Alfred before he starts throwing a fit about you exerting yourself while being sick or something like that with a British accent thrown in."

As Anastasia climbed onto the bus that pulled up in front of them, waving her friend off, he caught her wrist and she turned around, noting his reddening cheeks. As she cocked her head to the side, dark hair tumbling over her shoulders, he looked away from her and rubbed the back of his neck.

"We should go out Friday." Dick commented while glancing back at her. "We can go to the movies or get something to eat or both. Oh, but not like out. I meant like…doing something other than hanging out at my place. I thought we could celebrate your birthday early since you're going to Russia for spring break which your birthday is on."

"I'd love that. You can text me when you're feeling better and we can talk about the time and all that." Biting her lower lip, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I hope you feel better."

Taking a step back, the door to the bus closed and with a grin plastered on his face, Dick turned around and dashed back toward his waiting ride home. When she turned around, she was in such a good mood that she ignored the glower the bus driver was giving her.

* * *

With her best friend out of commission and her entire body still aching from the previous botched patrol night, Anastasia decided to reel in the vigilantism and work on her controlling her elemental abilities better. Throughout the past month, she had switched back and forth between patrolling and practicing with her natural abilities.

The dark-haired teenager walked through the dead construction sight, stalking toward the large iron beams stacked on the ground and surrounding that was a large puddle. After glancing around one more time to make sure there was no one left at the sight, she shoved down her hood and shoved on her mask.

Sucking in a deep breath, she stared at the iron beams and as she imposed her mental will on the metal, she could feel the burden weighing down on her arms. The experience she gained over the past month taught her that the larger the object and the less pure it was from the natural four elements, the more of a strain it would put on her. Of course she could use more experience with the natural elements, but she needed more practice with the less pure elements.

The invisible pressure was hard for her to push against, but she raised her arms somewhat and the beam groaned before it raised in the air about an inch. The next few minutes were spent with her trying to get the beam up–which moved inch by painful inch–until the point that there was sweat trailing down her forehead.

When someone tapped her shoulder, she gasped in terror and grabbed the person by their wrist, flinging them over her shoulder while the beam slammed back down with a loud boom that echoed throughout the surrounding area. With an erratic heartbeat, she was panting and looked down at the person she had thrown on the ground. Her mouth fell open when her emerald gaze landed on the large R brandished across said individual's chest.

"What the hell?" Anastasia hissed under her breath, stepping back from Robin. "What are you doing sneaking up on me like that?"

Robin rolled his shoulder forward and back while rubbing at his wrist and sending her a pout that she found familiar. "We were in the area and heard something. Batman sent me over here to check it out." He frowned at her. "I thought we told you to keep your powers hidden. I don't think you get how easily someone could find out about them and–"

"I've got more of an advantage against them than you do." She retorted while glancing at the ground and sending a rock soaring past his head.

Quicker than she comprehended, his hand flew down to his utility belt and then back up, his personalized batarang chasing after the rock. The batarang hit the target, knocking against the rock before exploding, sending chunks of the rock all over the both of them.

"You were saying?" Robin replied with a smug grin.

Gaze narrowing in anger, she raised her hand up while flames erupted in her palm. She spun back around toward the steel beam, intent on completing the task she had set out to do in the first place and hoping that Robin would leave her alone if she didn't acknowledge him being there with her.

"Does that happen with each element?" Anastasia was near the point of screaming out in aggravation or dousing the Boy Wonder in flames or both. "The whole eyes lighting up thing?" He reiterated while leaning closer to her.

"I have no idea." She held out her hand, as if she was holding something in her palm, and flung it toward him, a large patch of mud splashing over him. "You tell me."

"I was right. They turn different colors, though. The fire was red, earth was green, and I can be sure water will be blue and air will be gray or white." Robin analyzed while attempting to wipe the mud off him, a frown on his face.

Anastasia glanced toward him, scowling. "Am I in trouble for messing around inside this site? Because I'm sure this could be considered cruel and unusual punishment."

"Original," he commented sarcastically. "You need to stop flaunting the powers. You don't want the wrong person finding out about them. Oh, you might want to keep low on the Batman radar. He's given his final warning."

When she ran a hand across her face and looked back toward him, he was gone. With a sigh of frustration, she tore the mask from her head and shook out her dark hair, stalking toward the exit of the construction site.

That was the end of her brief training session.

* * *

An hour before she was supposed to meet Dick, she was staring at the bed with her best clothes, wondering what she should wear. Most of what she had, which wasn't much, were what her grandmother had sent her from Russia. And although she was sure he wouldn't care about her appearance, she still wanted to look nice for him even if it wasn't a date.

"Someone is going on a date, aren't they?"

Anastasia glanced over her shoulder at her mother who was leaned against the doorframe, smiling in a knowing manner. Sonya stepped forward, closing the door behind her, and glanced at the bed.

"Is it with Dick?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "But this isn't a date. This is for my birthday."

Her mother's smile grew. "There might be a date in the future. Stefan…he was my best friend then we fell in love and got married and, well, you know the rest." With a nostalgic sigh, she sat on the edge of the bed, tears in her eyes. "Anastasia, I'm sorry for how we've treated you. Because of us not being there, you had to take care of Karina. You had to grow up too, too fast. We've ruined your childhood and I'm so, so sorry."

"Don't…" Anastasia sighed and fidgeted with a shirt on the bed. "I don't–I know that it didn't turn out like you both wanted it to when you came here to Gotham before I was born. And I know it must have been hard after I was born. I'm sure going back to Russia would have been a blow and–" she shrugged. "Some people have a hard time dealing. I understand that."

Sonya pressed a hand against her daughter's cheek, the two of them staring into matching emerald eyes. "We never deserved to have you." She murmured with a bitter smile, tears falling down her cheeks.

"_Mat_?"

"You should wear the pink one. You look beautiful in pink." Her mother suggested as she wiped at her face and walked out of the room, giving Anastasia one last smile.

The teenager poked her head out of her door, blinking at her mother's back. She watched as the older woman grasped at a needle resting on the kitchen table, staring at it with a trembling hand. As Anastasia was about to turn back around and head back her room, she saw her mother toss the needle onto the ground, instead holding onto a chair. The woman doubled over, sobbing while letting out a small whimper.

Sucking in a deep breath, Anastasia padded out of her room and hugged her mother from behind. After Sonya wiped away her tears, she turned around and returned the embrace, burying her face into the dark hair of her child.

"_Mat, ya lyublyu tebya._" She murmured against her mother's stomach. [1]

"_Spasiba, Anastasia_." [2]

* * *

While brushing her dark hair, waiting until she had to leave to run toward the bus stop, there was a knock on the front door to the apartment. Both mother and father sleeping in their room, she walked out of her room and opened the door, her face heating up when she saw her best friend standing there.

"I thought we were meeting at the theatre." Anastasia hissed while glancing down the hall to make sure no one was around before dragging him into the apartment. When he raised a brow, she made a face. "People are desperate around here. You could get mugged or worse and what are you doing here?"

"I'm being a _gentleman_. Is there a problem with wanting to escort you style?"

Placing a hand on her hip, she sent him a look. "And how do you plan on doing that? Is Bruce driving us in the Lamborghini?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out."

Before she could open her mouth to retort, there was the sound of a door opening and she glanced over her shoulder, watching her father walk out of the bedroom with growing dread. As he mumbled under his breath in Russian, she started shoving Dick out the door while whispering curses and promises to explain later.

"_Kto eto?_" Her father's voice boomed from behind her. [3]

Anastasia turned around, glancing up at him with a blank expression. "This is Richard, my friend. We're going to get something to eat. Mat knows that we're going." She glanced to her parent's bedroom where her mother was poking her head out the door, glancing fearfully at her husband.

"_Vy lzhete. Ty spish's nim?_" Stefan accused while glancing toward Dick who was now frowning. "_Skazhite yemu, chtoby perestat' smotret' na menya tak._" He hissed. [4]

"_Menya zovut Dik Greyson_." Dick introduced and stepped forward with an outstretched hand. [5]

Running a hand over his head, Stefan glanced at his daughter who was hiding her face in her hands then back to the teenager in front of him. "You speak Russian? How do you know to speak?" He snarled while crossing his arms over his broad chest.

Dick shrugged with a forced grin. "My dad wants me to be a well-educated person."

"Bring her home early. No messing around."

* * *

Considering the fact that he hadn't spoken a word since the two of them walked through and out of the apartment building, Anastasia was sure that Dick was going to end the night short. But then he led her into a nearby alleyway where there was a motorcycle waiting. She glanced at him and his mischievous grin before shaking her head.

"Are you even old enough to drive this around?"

"Nope."

"So, we're breaking the law?"

"Heavy on the break."

"Well, if we get caught, I'm sure daddy can pay someone off."

"Now you're getting it."

* * *

"I wasn't scared at all, Dick."

"The lady doth protest too much. I saw you jump, A."

"The sire doth…see what is not there…ith."

The two teenagers shared a laugh while walking through the nicest park in Gotham after their movie had finished. As they walked toward the large pond, she sipped at her drink still left over from the theatre, and glanced over at her best friend, grinning wider when seeing his own large smile.

"Thank you for the night. It was nice. A great start to the big day that isn't for a week."

"I'm getting a head start. Sue me."

"You're a great friend." When he opened his mouth to protest, she caught his hand and gave him a warm smile. "I mean it."

"I get it. I'm awesome."

Anastasia dropped her hand out of his grasp, laughing with him. When she glanced at her cell phone, at the time, she sighed. "I guess we should go back soon. I hope the beast has gone back to his lair." She dropped her cup into a trash can. "I didn't think he would wake up. I hope you weren't too offended. He was…you know." It embarrassed her to acknowledge her father being loaded.

"You could come live with us, A. You don't have to live like that. You have people that care about you if you don't think that you do." The both of them stopped walking and he caught her hand now, grasping it tight.

"I know that. I'm not going to defend what the two of them do, but I don't want them to loose another daughter. At least not now. Plus, there are memories there. There are things there I'm not ready to let go of. But…thank you." She explained while breathing out a nervous sigh.

Dick gave her a sad smile. "You're welcome. The offer is up until you take it. And here is your present." He dug into his pocket and brought out a small box. He opened it and showed her the silver necklace with a small _A_dangling from the chain.

"This is…" She took it in hand and stared at it with a open mouth. "Thank you so much. This is so beautiful, Dick." After she clasped it around her neck, she leaned forward and hugged him–which she had been doing a lot of the past week.

"I saw it and it reminded me of you."

"Gorgeous," she struck a pose. "Why thank you, sir."

"Someone is full of themselves."

"I take after my best friend on that."

"You're hilarious."

* * *

Anastasia stepped through the door of her bedroom, taking a deep breath while dropping onto her mattress. There was a large smile stretched across her face and she knew that she had to get up and throw on her pajamas, but she wanted to bask in the happiness. There should've been more on her mind, but she was grateful for all that she had at that very moment.

But then someone broke down the front door and all hell broke loose.


	11. The Pinnacle of Her Rage

**A/N: **I am so excited for you all to read this! I pumped a lot of emotion into this chapter and please leave me a review to let me know what you all feel about this!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any part of the DC Universe including Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Ra's al Ghand and Talia al Ghul.

* * *

**Resurrection**  
_The Pinnacle of Her Rage_

Once again stuck between consciousness and the opposite, Anastasia had a strange dream that contained various people from her past and present, all shoved into a classroom at her school. Standing at the front of the room, in front of a blackboard, was her grandfather, the Batman, and Ra's al Ghul along with his daughter, Talia. Scribbled across the board was _denial, anger, bargaining, depression_ and _acceptance_—all of them being the five stages of grief that she had gone over with a child psychologist about a month after Karina had been murdered. On each side of her, holding her hands, were both Bruce and Dick and behind her was Alfred, his hand on her shoulder.

When the teenager glanced back toward the front, there were no more people to guide her. All that had been left behind was the corpse of her sister, bullet wound in the middle of her forehead, taunting the older sister. And when she could no longer stand looking at Karina, she looked up and into the full-length mirror standing before her and stared down the dual reflection. The same person, but the reflection of Anastasia seemed to be split into halves, one side wearing the suit she had worn during the duration of her training with Talia in and the other side wearing something she had never seen before. It was a suit like something she imagined she would wear if she had become a vigilante, a superhero like Batman and Robin.

The dream never made it past that strange point, but during her battle to remain awake through a drug that still lingered inside her, she was sure she understood what her subconscious was attempting to tell her. It seemed simple enough, to be honest.

The time was coming and she had to make a decision. Would she remain under Ra's al Ghul, become a murderer because she was stuck in the grieving stage of rage or would she move past that enough, become someone that would make her sister proud?

It should have been an obvious choice, and she could blame Ra's and Talia for poisoning her mind, but in the end, Anastasia clung to her rage. The world had dealt her a horrible hand and she wanted to take all that anger out on people who deserved it. Ridding the world of horrible people who would cause pain to people like her that never deserved it—when she thought about it like that, it made the thought of killing someone else a little easier to stomach. And she was sure, with time, the whole process would become easier.

Her entire thought process in that moment terrified her because she was attempting to justify murder. Ra's al Ghul might not have been poisoning her, but he was pulling out the worst and building on it. Taking the path with Batman—well, she was sure he could help her channel that rage, make something better out of all that anger. Down that path, she knew that Dick, Bruce and Alfred would be there to help her heal but she would have to loose them should she decide to remain under the immortal.

"Anastasia Azarova," a sharp voice called out to her and she sprung up from the mattress, staring around at the strange environment. A surge of pain started at the base of her neck and spread up across her head making her groan as she stared at the bald man, dressed in League uniform. "Congratulations," he bowed. "You have passed training. Our master has requested your presence at dinner. Mistress Talia commanded I give you this," he stretched out his arm and handed her an emerald dress.

"I...what?" Blinking, her gaze once again swept over the lavish room adorned in paintings she was sure were the original and ancient looking rugs, a room in a mansion that belonged to a man just as old, if not older, than what decorated his home. "I...passed?" She breathed out under her breath while reaching out to take the dress. "Thank you, uh, sir..."

"I am Ubu. I am the personal assistant and guard to our master. We will be working together to protect the master and Mistress Talia in the future should you pass the final test." Ubu bowed to her a moment before leaning back up and heading toward the door. "I will be waiting outside the door. Be quick. The master does not like to wait."

The moment Ubu shut the door, she was up from the bed and staggered over to the window. Looking out over the horizon, there was nothing but an endless ocean stretched out. There were steel bars blocking her escape, but she had elemental abilities to remedy that situation, and then she glanced down where the mansion loomed on the edge of a tall cliff. Whether she was able to make it down or not, she had no way to cross the ocean, no way to even get back to Gotham. Flying without provisions or direction was suicide—that much she could figure out.

"Shit." She snarled under her breath while groaning and running her hands through her tangled hair. "Shit, shit, shit. I can't...not now. This can't be happening now. No, no, no..." She crouched down and tucked her head between her legs, trying to breathe through the rising panic.

After a minute or two, when she was sure she wouldn't throw up all over the expensive rug, Anastasia stood up and threw her clothes onto the floor, sliding into the dress as slow as she could while her mind raced with useless escape plans. Ubu made a loud and impatient noise outside the door which caught her attention and sent her darting over toward the door, slipping a strap up on her arm as she opened it. The two started waking down a narrow hall and he started explaining the routine of those closest to Ra's al Ghul, but she never managed to pay much attention to him with her rising panic levels.

The teenager thought back to the dream, to the two paths she had now been shoved into deciding which to take, and suddenly remembered a lesson their class had finished just before spring break. Going over Shakespeare, she had been taught about the fatal flaw and realized how that concept applied too much to her current situation not to be ironic or fate or something.

_Rage_.

In the end, her rage had been her fatal flaw.

Rage had sent her, a mere child, into an adult situation and accept something that she never should have even thought about in the first place. Rage had made her accept a deal and not even think about what the future held in store because it helped ease the pain temporarily and that was all she had wanted ever since Karina died. Rage sent her out on the street, beating criminal after criminal into the ground, just to lessen the rage that never eased up, just worsened because there was a murderer out on the street who killed her sister.

Now Anastasia was terrified and had no escape route. No one was coming to save her because no one knew what happened to her. The police who had broken into her home on a suspected drug raid thought she was on the run in Gotham, had no idea that she had been kidnapped. As for the Batman and his Robin, the duo had more important things to do in a forsaken city. She was about to be lost to history, some daughter of two poor, junkie, Russian immigrants who would forever hide in the shadows. The only future in store for her was death—either from her refusing to be an assassin or from loosing her humanity when she would be forced to murder people.

"Pay attention," the man in front of her snapped and she glanced toward him with fear lingering behind her gaze. "There are still sedatives lingering in your blood, but that will not be an adequate excuse should our master notice you not listening to him. We have gone through much to prepare for this night and you should remember that, child."

"Yes sir." Anastasia murmured while glancing forward at the looming door where two assassins awaited her arrival.

Ubu glanced over his shoulder at her, sending her a stern look. "Do not speak unless spoken to. Do not move unless commanded to. Is this understood?" The teenager nodded and he glanced back toward the two assassins, giving a nod to which they bowed and then opened the door. "Good luck on your final test."

As she was about to speak, her voice was soon lost when she looked on in mild horror at the scene in front of her. She took a hesitant step toward the long dinner table, glancing over at the two bound and gagged people sitting across from her mentor, Talia, who was casually glancing over a newspaper. Seated at the head of the table was, of course, Ra's al Ghul who was carefully consuming his dinner. Both father and daughter seemed absolutely unfased by the fact that both Batman and Robin were seated at the table with them, both struggling to free themselves of the metal chains around them. As she took another cautious step, she noticed both the utility belts on her end of the table, out of reach for the two vigilantes.

"Miss Azarova," her gaze snapped up to the immortal who was standing up. Her automatic instinct was to bow to him, as she had been taught in training. "Congratulations are in order. You have completed your training. I had little doubt in you despite your encounter with the detective, his protege, and your blatant disregard of our strict rule for you to remain off the...vigilante scene." The panic that had been rising since she woke up peaked, but he held up a hand when she froze in terror. "That will be dealt with at a later date. Come and sit down. You need to eat. Food will help ease the effects of the drugs and you need strength for your final test."

"Of course, master." She murmured while moving past him to take the seat next to Talia. With her stomach rolling around inside her, she could hardly stomach looking at food, let alone trying to eat, but she had to keep calm and keep up appearances. So, still on the verge of a full-on panic attack, she started munching at the dishes set out for her—and she had no idea how either one of them knew what her favorite Russian dishes were.

"I can only assume how confused you must be at the appearance of the detective and his bird." Ra's commented while walking around to the other side of the table.

Anastasia swallowed a spoonful of soup before glancing down at her lap. "I am confused, but I've learned to not ask and listen instead."

"Excellent," he complimented with a smirk that reminded her too much of a snake in the grass. "We, too, were confused when the two managed to follow your position here. They were overpowered, but have not given up any information about how you were tracked. We assume there is something on your person that has a hidden tracking device."

The dark-haired girl opened her mouth to protest, that it couldn't be her because she changed before she had been kidnapped and that she had been out with Dick all night beforehand, but Talia wrapped her hand around the necklace before tearing it from around her neck. Anastasia cringed as the metal dug into her skin and then watched as her present was tossed across the table, ending up in front of Robin.

"Impressive, Robin, but I can see through your little tricks by this point." Ra's explained while grabbing at the chain and looking over it a moment before throwing it to the floor. "Miss Azarova, I believe it is time for you to know about who the Batman truly is."

"But—" Talia squeezed her thigh underneath the table and she cringed before closing her mouth.

"The detective is going to be my heir one day, Anastasia. When he has taken his rightful place as the head of the League, you are going to protect him as you will do with both myself and Talia. You must know the man underneath his mask. Do you understand this?"

Anastasia gave a mute nod while staring back and forth between Batman and Robin. The whole scenario was wrong and a voice in the back of her mind was screaming to make a diversion or something, but she had no idea what to do without being killed at the end of it all. In the end, it was the fear of death that kept her rooted there as Ra's reached for the edge of the cowl and ripped it from the face of Batman.

Then, her heart dropped and she breathed a little breath of disbelief. "Bruce?"

* * *

It bubbled underneath the surface of her skin, never gone and forever waiting to come to the surface. The rage inside her heart ran deep and it was clawing back toward the top, rising faster and faster as the new revelation sunk in. As she stood up, gripping the edge of the table, the smell of smoke reached her nostrils and she glanced down at the table, now burning underneath her glowing red hand. When she glanced back up, looking over at a now unmasked Robin who had his head ducked but she could still see her best friend, a small piece of wood broke off in her hand when she clutched it too hard.

There was a web of endless lies that she could not escape, no matter how hard she struggled against it otherwise. From the moment she was born, she had been told to lie about her abilities, lie about who she was, lie about all the abuse and neglect. For her more recent lies, most of the lies had been on her part (lie about her training, lie about being out of the streets at night, lie about her readiness for the League and revenge). Dick and Bruce and Alfred were supposed to be her haven, a place she could be the person she was meant to be with none of the lies involved. But no matter how hard she tried, there was no escape.

"Child, you have been lied to from the beginning. The only reason these two took such an interest in you was because of your abilities then some misplaced sense of guilt after your dear sister was murdered and then because I had brought you into my tutorage. These people are excellent in their lies, are experienced in putting on false fronts and you were just another casualty." Talia murmured while grabbing at her arm and pulled her hand back from the burning spot at the table.

Anastasia glanced over at Dick who was shaking his head at her, desperation lingering behind the blue, but Ra's moved and her attention was back on him. The older man placed a hand on her shoulder, something sinister behind his eyes that she tried to ignore as he gave her a small smile.

"But we have not lied to you. You came to me and we agreed that I would train you which I have done. I gave you power, Anastasia. And now, I will give you the vengeance you seek."

The door to the large dining hall opened and she glanced over at the two assassins dragging a bound, gagged, and struggling man into the room. Ra's moved past her and walked behind the prisoner, grabbing a fistful of hair and pulling the man's head back to give her a better look at him. She took in his stark black hair, chocolate brown gaze and overall handsome face because her stomach twisted around inside her.

"Meet Antoine DuPont, the man who murdered Karina Azarova and the man you are going to kill as your final test."

"Yes." The answer was automatic and took no thought at all when the rage flooded through her in an instant. "As you wish, master."

* * *

There were several locations that the League of Asassins worked out of and kept prisoners in, so when Anastasia was led down into a hall with holding cells, she knew that only the worst of the worst or personal enemies of Ra's al Ghul were kept there. Even the guard who escorted her down from the main part of the mansion only remained as long as he needed to explain the conditions to her before turning and running. As she watched the guard leaving, the muffled screams of DuPont echoed throughout the dank basement, making her blood boil all over again. The teenager stormed down the hall, almost to his holding cell until she caught the sound of rattling chains and glanced inside another cell.

Anastasia opened the door but never moved past the doorway, instead staring at the man who become like a father to her, who had lied to her and shattered it all. For a moment, she chewed on her lower lip and pondered whether she should have spoken to him or not.

"Out of all the people I needed, I think I needed you most, Bruce. Me and you, we're not like Dick." Her emerald gaze traveled to the unconscious teenager leaned against his mentor. "He was able to heal after what happened to him, but the two of us can't do that. We still remember, we still hold on...yeah," she took a deep breath. "I needed you most because you know how much it hurts even when everyone else says that it shouldn't, that you're just holding on the pain. I keep hoping you do actually care about me, but I mean, if Bruce Wayne is a mask, doesn't that make everything he does a lie?"

The silence between them was deafening and she thought about taking out his gag but she knew that even then, he wouldn't speak to her, so she went on. "I wish you would've told me. I wish I didn't find out like this. I feel like...it could've turned out a lot different if you'd been there to...help me through the pain and anger and..." She gave a shaky laugh. "Too late, I guess.

"You're like a father to me, you know. And I love you, Bruce. I'm...I am sorry, but I'm so angry..." Anastasia glanced down at the ground, watching as her few tears dropped onto the stone floor. "I wish I could be as good a person as you are. I wish I could've made you proud. I wish I could've been a better daugh—person," she amended before stepping back into the darkness.

And as she slipped into the room where her little sister's murderer was tied up to a chair, Anastasia allowed the ever-present rage to consume her and the pained screams of Antoine DuPont drowned out the muffled cries of Bruce yelling for her from down the hall.


	12. The Redemption

**A/N: **We're getting really close to the end of the story! I just wanted to take the time to thank all the people who have reviewed and/or favorited/followed this story! I love you all!

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing that originally belongs to DC Comics!

[1]: "My God..."

* * *

**Resurrection**  
_The Redemption_

Ever since she realized that the world would not stop because she had lost her sister, Anastasia had dreamed about the moment she could meet the man who murdered Karina and end his existence. The endless amount of time she had put into fantasizing about the fateful encounter, she imagined there would be something sweet to it, that there would be a sense of satisfaction. Day after day, month after month of being consumed with her wrath and despair had all come down to this moment that Ra's al Ghul had presented her with and all that she gained in return was more anger, more anguish and no satisfaction. The more she pummeled the man into oblivion, the more she was beginning to lose touch with who she was and that terrified her, but she continued to tell herself that she needed to take him out, keep him from taking another innocent child and ruining more lives. It was justification for her selfishness and that was what she had come down to–rationalizing the murder she was about to commit.

After all that she had done to build herself up, overcome where she lived to become something better–it had all shattered. This would be her life from now on–assassinating for the League, trying to take out people the League dictated bad, and never recovering from the darkness she would be drowning it. The inevitable fate of her becoming a rage-addled, cold-blooded assassin made her angrier, made her punch a little harder. In the end, she was about to become the same as the man who caused all her pain.

Anastasia had been so sure before that she had reached rock bottom, but she had been wrong about that. Her in that moment, as she took the life of Antoine DuPont, it was her true rock bottom.

"Please…please…don't kill…me…" The man underneath her foot sputtered and reached out to grab the hem of her shirt. "My baby…my Sophie…needs…needs her papa…" Tears rolled down his cheeks as he stared up at her in desperation.

Then there was more rage. "You're going to beg for your life because you've got a little girl at home?" There was more desperation. "When you took my baby sister from me?" And there was no satisfaction.

"No!" Antoine choked out while grabbing at her leg despite how she tried to shake him away from her. "Mon Dieu, I… he paid…me. I…didn't…saw my baby Sophie…but he…money and we…in with wrong people…we were desperate. Please believe me." [1]

When he sputtered, his blood splattered onto her cheek and she wiped at it as dread ran through her veins like ice, cooling the fiery rage for a moment. "You were…paid? But who would…do that?" She dropped to her knees and reached out to grab the front of his shirt, but he jerked back in terror and she wrapped her hands in her shirt. "Please tell me what kind of a man paid you to kill her. Please," she pleaded.

"Shadows…he was hidden in the shadows…but the guards…I remember them. The men that kidnapped me were…the same people…" The criminal fell back onto the stone ground as he cried out in pain. "Mon Dieu, I can't feel my legs! I…I can't walk. I can't...move…no…" He sobbed into the ground, turning away from her.

Shame washed over her for a moment because she had crippled this man when she was blinded with rage. Although he had deserved pain–even death–for what he had done to her sister, he had a daughter of his own. Now, because of what Anastasia had done to him, never again would he be able to put her on his shoulders, follow behind her when she was on a bike or any of the small things that had made her childhood worth something, the small things that she had done with her own sister.

But then the rage returned, stronger than ever because she had been manipulated from the start. Now that she had been guided through the veil by the very man who was the trigger, it all made perfect sense. Because of her abilities, she could provide Ra's al Ghul with protection from the Batman, but she needed some kind of a push or she never would have accepted his otherwise insane idea. And she, like an idiot, played into his hands because she was desperate to ease her pain instead of just pushing through it like a normal person, like she had pushed through all other obstacles before.

Anastasia knew what she needed to do, knew she needed to stand up and save both Bruce and Dick and then run from this place, never looking back. But she was stuck there on the ground, unable to move because she was breaking down on the inside. She leaned over, touching her forehead against the cold stone before she leaned back a little, throwing up on the floor because her stomach had been flipping ever since Antoine revealed he had been crippled. Nothing she told herself made her budge until that evil little world revenge ran through her head.

While the teenager stood to her feet, pushing through the dizziness and overall sickness, she swore she would have her revenge on both Ra's and Talia al Ghul. It wouldn't be at that moment, but it would happen, and she didn't care if she had to behead the immortal man then burn his bones but she would have vengeance. It pushed her out the large metal door and running down the hall toward the cell holding both Batman and Robin, but she was stopped when a guard came down the staircase as one had been since she had started on Antoine.

"Is the prisoner dead?" The assassin questioned.

"Yes. I was coming in here to...kill Robin. Master said that Batman doesn't want to become the heir, but if he doesn't have Robin holding him back then he might be more willing..."

"Your enthusiasm to please is noted and you can torture the boy, but do not kill him yet. Our master is in a meeting and when he is done, I will discuss it with him then. Until then, torture," he stressed, "and nothing more."

She bowed to him, dark hair falling over her shoulders and hiding her cringe. "Understood, sir."

The man nodded in acknowledgment before moving back down the hall and heading up the stone staircase. When she could no longer hear his footsteps echoing through the dungeon, she dashed into the room and shut the door behind her. Bruce looked at her with a piercing blue gaze and she avoided the look, instead looking down at his metal chains. Focusing, she held out a hand and met the invisible force that was the metal unwilling to bend to her will. With a little noise of frustration, because she was too mentally exhausted to do this, the chains broke and Bruce flexed, the chains falling off as he stood up.

"I didn't kill him." The teenager blurted when Bruce ignored her, instead turning around to tend to Dick who was still unconscious which made her even more nervous.

"I know you didn't, Anastasia. I knew you would do the right thing."

The faith he had in her made her squirm. "But I...I did...I crippled him." He turned around to stare at her, something behind the blank expression and her lower lip trembled. "Bruce, I'm scared of this...of me. What am I supposed to do? The only thing that got me up and going was the thought of getting revenge on Ra's. I don't know what to do..."

"The two of us are going to talk, something I should have done with you months ago. But now, we need to get out of here. You're going to wake up Robin while I go to get DuPont." Her mouth opened, but when he pulled down the cowl, her words were lost. "You're going to make up for what you did by saving his life. Even scum have families." He reminded before running out of the door.

Swallowing the anger, she walked over to her best friend and bent down on a knee, touching his cheek before shaking his shoulder. "Dick?" She called out weakly. "Dick, please wake up." He groaned and she perked up, breathing out in relief when he opened his eyes to stare at her. "Hold on. Let me get you out of these." She murmured while staring down at the chains with an open hand which she clenched, the snapping chains echoing through the room.

Once he was free, his first action should have been to reach for the domino mask at his side, but he instead reached out to embrace her. "Sorry I lied, Ana."

"It's not like I was all that truthful either." She breathed out against his shoulder. "Just get me a new necklace without a tracing device and we can call it even."

"Not making any promises," he murmured while grabbing at his domino mask and standing up, her arm supporting him as he did. "I wish I could've told you that it was Ra's, but until we figured out how to get you away from him, we didn't want to risk your life by telling you."

"Yeah, I'm beginning to learn that I'm not good at controlling my anger." Bruce came back into the room, Antoine DuPont unconscious and on the vigilante's back.

"Ana, you didn't..." Dick trailed off while grabbing her hand in his, making her feel shameful all over again. "Did you?" He asked when she gave no immediate answer. She shook her head, not wanting to admit she'd crippled a man, and he clutched her hand tighter.

"Going out through the mansion is suicide. With DuPont injured and Robin still drugged, we have to find another exit. Or," he glanced over at her, "make our own."

Anastasia's stomach dropped and she made a noise of protest. "No, no, no. We're, like, hundreds of feet in the air and how are we even supposed to get down? That's a thick wall and there's no way I can get through it. No, no, no. Don't you have, uh, your belt or a bomb or something you can Macgyver?"

"Ra's had us searched and seized our belts. You have to get us out of here. You can create a makeshift staircase down. Use your imagination." She glanced back over at the wall and let out a small whimper just thinking about the mental strain that would take. "You can do this, E."

The small smile was almost instantaneous as he referred to her with the name she had chosen when she was doped up on morphine. "Sticking with that, old man? I wasn't sound of mind when I said that, you know."

"Well, it could be something stupid like Element. E is short, sweet and to the point." Dick commented.

Anastasia made a small sound of agreement before turning to the wall again, bracing both her hands against the stone. She sucked in a deep breath, focusing on what her grandfather had told her about using the elements, that she needed to become the element. With so much rage in her heart, all that she could fuel was fire. To use earth, she needed stubbornness and had to suppress her anger which is what she could do, but the wall was thick and struggled not to budge against her will.

All that she could think about was that she would not allow Bruce and Dick to die. They might have lied, but so had she and she still loved them both with all her heart. She was not as weak as she was when Karina died and she would not loose more people because she was too weak to move a wall.

Groaning against the wall, she shoved harder against the invisible force and watched as the wall started to buckle, a crack running down the middle. After one more mental shove, the wall blew open, pieces of stone falling down into the darkness below. Sucking in a gulp of air, she looked over the edge and wondered how she was supposed to create a staircase to get them down, but there was a sound coming from above them and she figured the wall breaking had been too loud.

Running a hand through her dark hair and huffing, she looked down at the stone of the mountain, imagining it jutting out to become a stepping stone. Pulling her arm back, she shoved her hand forward and watched as the rock jutted out somewhat. With about three more repeated motions, the first stepping stone was large enough for them all to step on. When all of them stood on it, she looked back at the gaping hole and lifted her hand up, pulling it back down so that a slab of rock was in front of it.

"Do you know what motions to make or were you taught?" Dick inquired while staring back at the now-closed hole.

"I am so winging it at this point."

The process continued like that, with her pushing out a stone slab for them to step on and make their way down the mountain inch by painful inch, it seemed like. She knew that neither of them understood just how hard it was for her, the mental strain it took to keep doing that and with loosing her stubbornness because she was loosing the will to go on, it made it even harder to move forward. Halfway down the mountain, she had to stop and double over for a moment, her entire frame trembling while she panted.

But then, the a portion of the mountain close to their position exploded and sent them all spiraling down toward the beach at the bottom of the mountain. Bruce grabbed at both her and Dick, putting them in front of him as he fell so that when they all landed, he would hit the ground first and perhaps save their lives. Anastasia, though, would not let them die and looked up at the nighttime skies. In the next moment, she threw her hands behind her as if she were a bird spreading her wings and a gust of wind blew up from behind them all, slowing them down enough that the fall was hard, but not hard enough to leave any kind of permanent or fatal damage.

Both of the teenagers rolled off the adult underneath them, Anastasia groaning and Dick laughing breathlessly. "Am I allowed to tell you how awesome your superpowers are?"

"Boost my ego later, D." She replied while looking around with a scowl. "We're missing someone. Where's DuPont?"

"He was grabbed during the explosion, most likely." Bruce stood up, but it was slow so she had to assume that he had been hurt in the fall. "You two are going to stay here and contact Alfred or the League." He pointed at something behind them and they turned around, looking at the assassin sprawled on the ground–dead from the impact when he fell from the hole. "Use him to patch through and then send for help."

Dick started to shake his head, lips pursing and glaring at his mentor. "You need someone to back you up. Ana can stay here and do it. Right, A?"

Anastasia sent him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, D, but I'm going with him. Someone has to stay behind to get some help." Now both mentor and protege went to speak, but she cut them off. "You said Antoine is my responsibility now. I crippled him, so I have to save him now. Besides, I have superpowers that none of these other people do and I can make escaping easier for us since, you know, nature is everywhere."

"You both know this is a trap, right? Ra's is going to kill you–"

"Dick, this man is my responsibility now. I made him suffer for what he did, but even he has family so I'm not going to let him die like that." He made a face and she grabbed his hand for a moment, making him look right at her. "And as for Ra's, he can try."

For the first time since she had met him, Richard Grayson never said a word.


	13. The Crippled, Beaten, Broken Things

**A/N: **Well, I am announcing that the next chapter is going to be the last one. Please let me know if you want there to be a sequel or if you have any general questions about Anastasia or the story! Oh, and leave me a review about the chapter itself because I love hearing your feedback! Thank you all for sticking with me through this whole story!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anyone from the DC Universe! I own Anastasia and all other original characters only!

* * *

**Resurrection**  
_The Crippled, Beaten, Broken Things_

Hunched against the bottom of the mountain in the darkness while her partner towered over her, she watched as men dressed in black scrambled around the island searching for their now-separated trio. The two had wrapped around the mountain twice and there was no sign of an accessible entrance that didn't require some bloodshed on their part. As Bruce gave her the signal to stand up and follow after him to look around one more time, she grabbed his wrist and motioned toward something she had failed to notice until that moment.

When she had moved to stand up, the moonlight shined down on a small opening in the mountain and Bruce headed over toward it with her following close behind. The man with her searched the crack for something that could harm them, but there was nothing and he glanced over his shoulder at her. Though she hadn't been able to connect with his direct gaze, she knew the message he was communicating. It was a warning–that the cave was an obvious trap set for them by Ra's al Ghul. The teenager nodded toward him in an acknowledgement that she understood the danger and was prepared for it.

Bruce stood back up and gave her some space to open the entrance. Glancing over her shoulder and around the immediate area, she then looked back at the stone and grasped at the invisible force. Groaning under her breath, she pulled the force to the right and the slab of rock followed her motion.

The thought on her mind was that opening the mountain was too loud as a League member shot toward her, his katana held high above his head and swinging down toward her. Behind her, Bruce grabbed her collar and jerked her back while his plated arm caught the member's blade. A group yelled behind the two of them and she turned around, watching as a small group of assassins ran toward them. Panic ran through her for a moment and she looked over her shoulder at Bruce, but he was having trouble with his opponent which led her to believe he had been hurt when he first came to the base.

Anastasia glanced back at the nearing group with a newfound determination and stomped her foot on the ground, a tremor running through the sand and right at the group, tripping them all. While her hand lit up with fire, she ran around the group and created a ring of fire around them, blocking them from moving for a bit. The teenager whipped around, running back into the cavern as the assassin shoved Bruce to the ground, sword held high. She yelled out in anger and she pounced at him, her fire-coated fist smashing down against him hard enough to send him to the ground. The fire began to burn his clothes, but she had learned her lesson and willed the flames out, kicking his face to ensure he was unconscious.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly while Bruce stood up, stumbling as his leg almost gave out on him. Her gaze lingered on his leg as he limped forward and she jogged forward to catch up with him. "Do you think…that maybe we should turn back around?" He glanced down at her and she made a face. "You're hurt, Bruce, and I'm…angry? We're not exactly that much of a threat against someone with a whole league at his beck and call."

"They're going to underestimate us, then. We have the advantage." Bruce retorted as he started walking again. "And I've dealt with worse than this. I'm going to be fine. We need to address your anger, though."

She made a noise in the back of her throat. "It can make me stronger. My anger fuels my fire–literally."

"Anger does not make you stronger. It makes you stupid and reckless." Bruce replied in a clipped tone. "For the moment, you need to forget about what DuPont did to you, what Ra's did to you. You're here to save a life now–not exact revenge."

Running a hand through her dark hair in frustration, she glanced at the ground before looking back up at him with a frown and anger behind her eyes. "Would you be able to do it, Bruce? Forget about what the man who took them from you did and then save his life like he was some innocent person?" She whispered. "You visit them every week. I know you do. I see it. Don't stand here and act better than me, preach about forgiveness and being better than revenge."

"I'm not a better person than you, Anastasia. I never said I was." He replied in a strained tone. "But I can tell you that I did have my chance for revenge–just like you–and didn't take it. I decided to do something better than that–become something better and chose this life. You haven't taken his life yet, but he will die if you leave him here. Be the better person. Make Karina proud of you."

Anastasia had committed to saving the man who murdered her sister, but deep down, she didn't want to be the better person. Antoine DuPont had his time and he went down the wrong path, but Karina had been stolen before she even began to live. Why should she save a man who cut down children like his own daughter and sell drugs to people and more? But then she remembered her promise to keep people from experiencing the same pain she had and DuPont had, at least, a daughter to mourn his passing. Save a man who ruined her life to keep from ruining the life of another–it was a complicated web that was woven.

"Okay," she sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. Let's, uh…let's go. We're wasting time."

There seemed to be hesitation radiating from him and she thought he had more to tell her, but he instead continued trekking forward through the dark cavern. There was a light up ahead that grew brighter and brighter as they neared it. A few lit torches lined the cave walls and she had to roll her eyes at how cliché the whole scenario was. As they were about to reach where the cave opened up, Bruce held out an arm to stop her from alerting the guard watching over whatever lay beyond them.

It took no time for her partner to sneak up behind the man and knock him out. When the man was on the ground, she shuffled ahead to kneel down on her hands and knees beside the Batman who was on a knee himself.

The two looked out into the large room that stretched out where Ra's al Ghul and Talia were up on a natural platform, hovering over an unconscious DuPont. There were a few of the League members surrounding them and one man provided Ra's with a scimitar. His hand ran along the blade while he murmured something to his daughter that Anastasia couldn't hear, but made the brunette nod before jumping off the platform and walking out of sight with a few men surrounding her.

"Anastasia Azarova," the immortal's voice echoed and she ducked down a little lower. "I know you're here. I should have you killed for betraying me, but you are still weak from your emotions." She bit her tongue and fought against her rising rage. "You have misunderstood me. I sought to raise you up and make you more than what you pretended to be. You could control Mother Nature herself. You could _be_ Mother Nature herself," he amended. "Why run around in a world that has ignored you and shunned you for being what you are–a god among men?"

The teenager dug her fingers into the stone while they started glowing, but when Bruce caught her arm, she took a breath and shoved her hand against her chest to keep her lit hand from attracting attention. There was a noise behind them and before she had time to react, she was shoved forward and Bruce dropped off after her in an attempt to keep her safe. But now, instead of the older man grabbing onto him, she grabbed him so that she was up against his chest and shoved her hands over his shoulders to blast air against the ground and cushion their landing.

A simultaneous groan passed between them both when they landed, but from what she could figure out, neither had been wounded too bad in the fall. The two of them stood up and she looked up at Ra's who held out his blade against the neck of DuPont. In his other hand, he held out something that blinked and when she looked at it hard, she realized it was a trigger for a bomb. It made both her and Bruce stop approaching him and she sucked in a sharp breath, dread running through her.

"Don't waste your breath on a pathetic worm like this one." Ra's motioned down at the unconscious man with his scimitar. "You will take your place amongst us because it is where you belong. You know this is true." A flame flickered to life in her hand and he chuckled. "There is a natural born killer in you and I am going to bring it out. You and the detective are going to take your place now. Kill me and this filth or save Mister DuPont and allow me the time to detonate this bomb."

Anastasia took a step toward him and paused for a moment when seeing him lift up the trigger a bit before walking ahead again. "You're not going to detonate it because you need us both." She called him out and climbed up on the platform. "But you're right. I am a god. If you let Bruce go then I'll take my place. I swear it. Let Bruce and Dick go."

Ra's opened his mouth to speak, but she darted forward and tried to grab the detonator from him. Her arm moved up to catch his blade, but it sliced into her arm and she stumbled back. Bruce had jumped up behind her and helped her hold back Ra's. But the immortal managed to shove them back and his hand then flew down to the trigger, detonating the bomb.

The first thing she heard was the booming that resonated throughout the cave and then she saw fire coming toward them. Bruce shoved her down on the ground next to DuPont, his cape coming over her, but she looked up quick enough to throw her hands out, stopping the fire from swallowing them–though the same could not be said of Ra's al Ghul or the members of the League that had stayed behind with him. The screams of their pain–sans the immortal–echoed throughout the cave and her mind and she knew she would be haunted by the cries of those men.

Anastasia groaned at the immense pressure that dropped down on her. A bubble had formed around the three, but the inferno was so powerful that she could feel the blistering heat. She turned around and looked down at Bruce who was, in turn, looking up at her.

"We have to get out before the cave starts collapsing." She cried out over the flames. "I can hold back one thing, but I can't control two elements at the same time. We have to hurry because this is too much–" she let out a strangled scream and looked down at her legs. A pair of hands stuck out from the fire, one burning and gripping her shin tight while the other stuck a searing blade into her thigh.

Bruce kicked at Ra's al Ghul and sent him back into the fire while picking up DuPont and throwing the man over his shoulder. Because she was preoccupied with holding back the fire, which had jumped forward and almost caught her clothing, she had to stumble after Bruce and ignore the automatic instinct to clutch at her bleeding leg. Behind her, she could hear the cave beginning to crack above, but she continued to chase after Bruce, her arms still held out and holding back the blaze.

It seemed to take forever for them to even reach another exit route that was on ground level, but the cave was beginning to crumble around them. Just as she was entering the corridor that exited out to the beach, the opening collapsed and shut off the fire behind them. She was relieved only for a moment before the cave around them began falling and she threw her hands up above her to keep the rocks from crushing them.

Bruce said nothing to her, instead letting her step ahead of him to let her move the rocks out of the way to clear a path. He kept close to her each step of the way both to protect and make sure the strain was as small as possible on her. The end of the cave seemed so close, but she was beginning to falter and her vision was starting to blur from blood loss.

The cave must have crumbled completely because the weight suddenly crushed down on her so much that she was thrown to her knees. Bruce dropped down as well because the rubble was a mere few inches above their heads, getting lower and lower. Tears had started to stream down her cheeks because she was struggling so hard to keep them from dying, trying to protect the man that had become like a father to her, and the frustration and rage built up in her so much that with one final burst, the area around them exploded and cleared a path out to the beach.

Anastasia dropped onto the ground, on the verge of unconsciousness. For a moment, she must have blacked out because when she came to, someone was placing her down onto the sand of the beach. When her vision cleared, a woman was hovering over her, something golden in the middle of her forehead. The dark-haired teenager took a deep breath and her head fell to the side, gaze locking on the red of her robin.

"We're going to get some medical attention for you. Just hold on, sister." The woman above her explained and Anastasia looked back at the woman, coming out of her daze and realizing that said woman was _the_ woman–Wonder Woman. "You're going to be alright, little warrior. I promise."

_Must be dying for her to talk to me like that_, Anastasia thought absentmindedly as she leaned up. Wonder Woman supported her back as she stood up, hopping on a leg because the stab wound felt like it was on fire. Her gaze moved around, landing on Bruce and the actual Superman who were talking a few feet away, Dick beside them but his eyes on her.

"Can we go back to Gotham?" The elemental user whispered weakly, catching the attention of the trio across from her and Wonder Woman. "I…I want to go home. Can I get stitched up there?"

"You should be sent to the nearest hospital. Superman can take you there quickly and Bruce can meet up with you there." Wonder Woman replied.

The younger replied by taking a deep breath and then looking up at the older with a look of desperation. "Please can we go back there? I'm so tired and want to go back home. I just…I need that right now."

"Our ride will be here in a minute, A." Dick explained and walked over to her side, grasping at her hand. "You should lean on me some. That probably hurts a lot." He suggested and wrapped an arm around her waist without a word from her. "Sorry I wasn't there to protect you, Ana." He murmured.

All she could manage was a sound mixed between a sob and laugh. "I don't think you could've, Dick. Didn't you hear? I had to save Batman's ass."

* * *

Just as the plane was rising into the air to take them back to Gotham, there was a beep from the front panel. Both she and Dick glanced toward the front seat where Bruce pressed a button and a transmission displaying Alfred popped up. The older man glanced around and his gaze moved over to both she and Dick in the back, pulling a sigh of relief from him.

"Thank heavens you are all alright. I had feared the worst." Alfred commented.

"Doubting us, Alfred?" Bruce retorted with heavy sarcasm.

"Not for a minute, Master Bruce." The butler responded which made the two teenagers scoff in the back. His attention was brought to them and he cleared his throat, the small amount of amusement gone from his expression. "I have some…troubling news, Miss Anastasia."

"It can't be much worse than what I've dealt with tonight, Alfred." She murmured under her breath.

"It would appear that your mother and father…well, the two were arrested for possession of illegal drugs. The two are going to be sent to Blackgate Prison, Anastasia."

It had been worse.

When what he told her had processed thoroughly, Anastasia doubled over and ran her hands through her dark hair but left them there, clutching the dark tendrils in her hands. She let out a choked sob before tears rolled down her cheeks and she finally caved in to the breakdown that had been there ever since Karina died–finally allowed herself to break like she had wanted to all along.

Because that really seemed like the only thing she could control at that moment.


	14. The Temporary End

**A/N: **Alright, so I lied about this being the last chapter. The next chapter, which I'm about to post after this one, will be the last chapter and which is where I will put my little ending speech.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything or anyone from the DC Universe.

* * *

**Resurrection**  
_The Temporary End_

A haze clouded her mind when she came back to consciousness, but the longer she remained in the bed, unmoving and disoriented from the morphine, the more memories that came back to the forefront of her mind. The teenager rolled over in the lavish and large bed, blinking at the alarm clock resting on a nightstand across from her, counting the hours of sleep she had accumulated and blamed the twelve-hour sleep cycle on both the morphine and sheer exhaustion. Taking a deep breath, she brought in the scent of soup that rested on the other side of the room accompanied with crackers and a glass of water. Her stomach growled at the sight, but she had no motivation to get up and walk over to it and the more she thought about her encounter with Ra's al Ghul, the more her hunger dissipated.

The door to the bedroom opened and she watched as the butler of the manor walked into the room with a fresh bowl of soup and a small saucer stacked with cookies. Alfred moved over to where she rested without a sound and when he noticed she was awake, he gave her a small smile. Anastasia leaned up and cringed as her legs throbbed with dull pain which caused him to respond by pulling back the covers and checking her bandaged legs. The two shared a simultaneous sigh when seeing a small red spot beginning to seep through the white.

"How are you doing, Miss Anastasia?" Alfred inquired while reaching into the nightstand to grab at some medical supplies. "Should I alert Master Bruce and young Master Richard about your waking or should I allow you some more time alone?"

Anastasia responded with silence and glanced down at both her uncovered legs–one burnt and one decorated with a stab wound. When he had disinfected them and wrapped them back up with bandages, she rolled out of the bed with his hand on her arm to keep her steadied. The two of them stopped for Alfred when he reached out to grab the white pills he had placed with the food and water and handed them to her. She downed them without the water, cringing at the disgusting taste, and then moving on and out the door.

Dick was waiting outside the bedroom door for her and when he saw her, he took place for Alfred who gave them both a knowing smile before heading down the staircase. When her best friend put his hand at the small of her back and a hand on her upper arm, she shifted under his grasp because her already uneasy stomach started rolling around inside her. Dick sent her a little smile and she sent her own tight one in response, taking a deep breath to try and calm her suddenly racing heart.

"A, you have one terrifying grandfather."

Anastasia was surprised for a moment, but realized that her grandfather would show up in Gotham at some point since her mother and father had been incarcerated. "Yeah, he has that air about him. Let me guess, it was the fire, right?" When her grandfather walked into any room with a burning fire, the flames reacted to his presence–moving along with his breathing, spiking with his temper and dwindling with his sadness.

"I'm guessing he does his best work with fire?" Dick inquired.

"You'd be guessing right. _Babushka_ is the best with water. I still don't understand how the two of them have been married as long as they have–being the natural opposite of one another."

Her best friend glanced over at her for a moment before looking back at the staircase. "Are you okay to go down by yourself? I could carry you down them, you know." He suggested with a smug grin.

"What a gentleman," she retorted sarcastically. "I'm hurt, Dick. I'm not helpless. I can get down them just fine." She took a step down and cringed as pain shot up her legs and he sent her a look. "Oh, shut up and help me. _Not_ carry," she hissed.

"Sure thing, A," Dick laughed while wrapping his arm around her waist again and helping her down the staircase. "Since your grandparents have a natural element, does that mean you have one, too?" She nodded in affirmation. "Is it earth?"

"How'd you guess?" She grinned. "_Ded_ told me that he knew I would be my best with earth because of my eye color–they're green, if you didn't notice. In my family, you don't get your eye color from your parents, but from your element. Amber is fire, blue is water, green is earth and gray is air." Dick nodded along with her explanation and then she chuckled bitterly. "But all it seems like I can manage out lately is fire, though."

Giving her a small smile, he wrapped his hand around her own which made her calm down but made her heart race at the same time. "We can help you here, Ana. If anyone can understand what you're going through best, it's all of us."

"I know that, but…you know that my grandparents have custody over me now that my parents are being thrown in prison. I'm probably going to have to go to Russia–" his gaze fell to the ground and she placed her hands on the sides of his face, making him look back up at her. "This is something we all need right now. My grandmother has never been the same since we lost Karina and after everything that's happened…we need each other." She wrapped him in a tight embrace. "Can you understand that, Dick?"

There was hesitation on his part for a moment before he returned her embrace with a quiet sigh. "Of course I can, Ana. I guess…I just wanted more time to make up for all the hurt I've caused you."

"What?" Anastasia leaned back from him with furrowed brows and a look of confusion stretched across her face. "What are you talking about?" The door to the side of them opened and she glanced over at her grandfather and Bruce who walked together. She glanced back at Dick with a frown. "We're going to talk about this later." She huffed and then turned toward her grandfather. "Can I talk to you, _ded_?"

"Of course, my Anastasia," the older man hobbled over to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It is good to see you as well." He remarked sarcastically as she led him back into the same room he had just walked out of.

* * *

The sun was just beginning to rise when she awoke and she remained in bed, surprised that she had been able to sleep at all considering the twelve hours she spent unconscious the day before. When she leaned up, her back ached from the strain of sleeping on a couch since her legs were not up to the task of walking up and down the staircase to get to a bedroom. As she shuffled out of the room, she headed toward the kitchen for a drink of water but found the dressed butler of the manor sipping on a cup of tea in a room with a large window that looked over the grounds.

"Good morning, Anastasia." Bruce called out from behind her as he walked into the room with Alfred, holding his own steaming cup of coffee. "You're up early." He commented casually.

"Um, yeah," she rubbed the back of her neck and limped over to the chair he offered her, shoving his helping hand away playfully. "I think I've slept enough for a lifetime and my back wasn't agreeing with the couch either–oops."

Anastasia cringed when she was met with the fierce look of Alfred. The older man stood up and cleared his throat to which she shook her head and forced a meek smile. "With my legs being hurt…well, it's easier being down on the first floor. I didn't want to bother you and Bruce with making me some stupid accommodations."

"Until you are retrieved by your grandfather from Russia, you are going to live here, Miss Anastasia. And I might be so bold as to say that you are a part of our family, so a request for us to help make you more comfortable would hardly be out of our way. Excuse me," he grabbed his cup of tea. "I will go and arrange something for you right away. Also, we will be going out to shop later for some clothing appropriate for a young lady."

The teenager blinked as he walked out of the room and turned to look at Bruce who was giving a small smile. "You've known him long enough to know that you should have just asked for some help." He sipped at his coffee. "How are you feeling?"

"Are we talking physically or mentally?"

"Since you've brought both up, we'll talk about both."

"I'm fine." She replied while sinking down in her chair with a pout.

Bruce sent her a look. "You're lying, Anastasia."

"I'm…managing. Is that better?" The look never left his face and she sighed. "I think I'm not scared of what happened with Ra's–as crazy as that might be. Really, I'm still terrified over what I almost did. If he hadn't talked when he did…I would've killed him. I'm scared about the things I'm capable of."

"As far as Ra's al Ghul is concerned, I'm going to protect you from him. You've turned on him and he will send the League of Assassins after you, but I'll never let him hurt you." She gave a weak smile and he glanced out the window. "I understand your fear of yourself better than most. Do you know why I've never taken a life even when madmen like Ra's or the Joker turn around and murder more innocent people?" She shook her head and he frowned. "I'm terrified of what I'll become–that if I go down into that place, I'll never come back."

The dark-haired man lifted up from his chair, walking in front of the window and she stood up to walk over to his side. "Does it bother you? Looking at me and seeing the exact same thing when you look in the mirror?" She asked after a tense moment of silence.

"No. It makes me work harder to prevent it from happening again."

"You can't save everyone."

"I can try." The mood seemed lighter, but the frown was still on his face. "I'm sorry, Anastasia. I should have protected you. I should have told you about Ra's–trusted you to make the right decision. I should have protected your sister and prevented any of this from happening."

Anastasia crossed her arms over her chest and sighed in frustration. "Everyone keeps apologizing to me today. My grandfather confessed that he told Ra's about me–they used to be business partners, you know, until he found out what Ra's did to me and cut off the longtime partnership. But you two talked about that, didn't you?" He nodded and she chuckled bitterly. "Everyone can blame themselves for what happened to Karina, what happened to me, but you know something? I'm sure Ra's al Ghul would have come after me no matter what. He would keep going until he got me where he wanted me to be."

"I could have–"

Reaching out to wrap her arms around his large frame in a tight embrace, Anastasia cut him off from speaking. "It was never your fault–Karina, your mom and dad–we couldn't stop it from happening to them." He returned her hug and she sniffled against his chest. "You can blame it on the wrong place, wrong time or not being strong enough, but it couldn't be stopped and that's not our fault. I think if I've learned anything from all that's happened, it's that."

"Yeah," she breathed out shakily against his shirt, "It's not our fault."

* * *

A week later, when Anastasia was resting after a stressful time returning to school, she was on her bed and painting her toenails while Dick worked on his homework. When he turned over, he made a face at her.

"Don't be such a girl, A."

"I am a girl, Richard. Shut up or I'll make Alfred hold you down while I paint your nails. And I'll hide the nail polish remover so you'll be fighting crime with pretty pink fingernails." She huffed and wriggled her pink toes. "I'm preparing for flip-flop season…whenever it comes." Spring still struggled to come to Gotham, but the days were beginning to warm up. The heat was something she thrived in.

"I wear plated gauntlets."

"Oh, excuse me, your highness. _Plated_," she snorted and he glared at her. Her response to the look was to give him a beaming smile. He pouted and the two of them continued to give a variety of strange expressions.

After a passing Bruce commanded Dick get back to work and stop flirting, both blushed and she shifted too quick, making a sharp pain run up her legs. She groaned and lifted up her pant leg, absentmindedly running a hand over the scarred skin in the shape of a handprint that wrapped around her ankle.

"Does it bother you?" Dick frowned.

"What? Oh, the scar," she glanced down at it before shrugging. "Not really. It reminds me that I survived. They both do." She rubbed at her thigh where the stab wound rested.

Her friend responded by making a face. "I should have been with you and Bruce. I wanted to protect you. I suck at being a best friend."

"If it makes you feel any better, I think you're a good best friend. And our situation isn't exactly normal and any other person would've bailed when they found out I can shoot rocks at them. And, by the way, that one night in the construction site…sorry," she whispered.

"You should be." He commented while turning back to his work.

Anastasia rolled her eyes and swept her gaze over the door where a familiar woman was standing at the doorway next to Bruce. Her mouth dropped and she shoved at Dick to get his attention while scrambling to roll the cap back on her nail polish. The dark-haired woman took a step forward, putting up a hand to signal Anastasia could stop her shuffling around.

"Anastasia," Wonder Woman acknowledged with a smile. "We were never formally introduced, but I am Diana of Themyscira–Diana Prince when going through the normal routine of man's world."

"I'm, uh–" Dick cleared his throat to cover up the snicker and she kicked at him with a non-polished foot. "My name is Anastasia Azarova. I was the…girl with anger issues and also the girl who was bleeding all over you which I apologize for, ma'am."

"I've handled worse, I assure you." She glanced over her shoulder at Bruce. "Do you and Richard mind leaving us alone for a few minutes? I would like to talk to her in private."

Bruce sighed and nodded toward his ward that scooted off the bed and followed him out of the room, leaving the two women alone. Diana glanced at her with a smile while going to sit on the edge of the bed with the younger woman.

"I'm here with a proposal. Bruce explained to us your situation and I wanted to offer you a place to learn to control your rage–which I saw too much of in you. Themyscira is a place where you can learn to battle but also make peace with your inner struggle. You can become a sister to the Amazonians."

Anastasia hesitated and rubbed at her upper arm, clearing her throat. "Thank you for the offer, but…I'm going to Russia with my grandfather at the end of the school year. I need my grandparents and they need me. And as for fighting, well…I'm going to learn how to control my power there. My family is full of people that can use the elements." She explained.

Diana smiled at her and the teenager gave a weak smile in return. "But maybe…one summer, when I'm better, I can come and learn from you?"

"Perfect. I'll be keeping in touch with you."

* * *

When the sun was beginning to set and she was seated under a tree on the grounds, her best friend walked up and took a seat at her side. There was nothing but silence that passed between them, but she leaned her head against his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her waist and she felt at peace. The peace was something she thought she would never feel again because it seemed like all she had ever known was that anger simmering under the surface of her skin.

As the two of them sat under that tree in twilight, she knew that everything would be alright. She had lost her little sister and she had fallen far and hard because of her rage, but she promised she would grow from it.

Anastasia Azarova had been reborn and though she had almost ruined her second chance at life, she would keep up on her promise to keep people from experiencing the same pain she had.

It was her promise to Karina and she planned to keep up on it.


	15. The Troubling Epilogue

**A/N: **Well, this is the last chapter of this part of Anastasia's life. Don't be too sad, though, because I will be posting a sequel to this story. I'm not sure how soon or how long it'll take me to get up that sequel because I'm still planning out the plot, but it will be up. Thank you all for sticking in with me and this story the whole way through and a special thanks to those who have left me reviews! Remember to leave me a review about how you felt about these last chapters and if you have any general questions!

I love you all!

**Disclaimer: **For the last time until the sequel, I am telling you that I do not own anyone or anything from the DC Universe.

* * *

**Resurrection**  
_The Troubling Epilogue_

"Father," the brunette spoke as she entered the room, glancing over her father who had a towel wrapped around his bare shoulders. "You are looking much better after bathing in the Lazarus Pit." The image of the once burned corpse of her father flashed in her mind for a brief moment before she turned her attention back to him, watching as he drank from a glass of wine and stared out at the horizon.

"Ubu has informed that you have her. Where is she?" Ra's al Ghul inquired and glanced back at his daughter with an emotionless face.

"The girl is outside and waiting to be brought in at your command." Talia explained and nodded toward the guard at the door when her father sent his own nod of acknowledgement toward her.

A servant, surrounded by a group of assassins, wheeled in a steel table in which a body rested underneath a thin white sheet. Both Ra's and Talia al Ghul approached the corpse and the immortal man lifted up the sheet, examining the decaying child with a gaping hole in the middle of her forehead.

"We have procured Karina Azarova as you requested, father."

"And the detective has no idea that you were in Gotham?"

"Of course," Talia replied.

A dark chuckle sounded from her father and he placed a hand on the cool cheek of the small corpse. "Excellent. For now, store her in a cool place. It is not yet time for her place in our plan." He watched as the servant wheeled the table out of the room. "Send someone back to make sure her gravesite does not look disturbed. We cannot have the detective coming back to retrieve her before we send young Karina to the Lazarus Pit."

"As you wish, father."


End file.
